Versalis joins with Genomatica and Novamont to make bio-butadiene

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Milan, Italy - Elastomer chemical company Versalis has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Genomatica and Novamont to establish a strategic partnership to enable production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks.

The partnership, on the basis of which a joint venture will be established, will develop a comprehensive 'end-to-end' process for production of polymer-grade butadiene from biomass. Versalis, which has a majority stake in the partnership, aims to be the first to build commercial plants using the process technology upon project success.

This agreement brings together the core competencies of all three companies, Versalis said in a 24 July news release. It will involve Genomatica's proprietary technologies and intellectual property for producing butadiene, Versalis' extensive expertise in catalysis process development and process engineering scale-up and market applications of butadiene derivatives, as well as Novamont's experience in renewable feedstocks.

"Genomatica's process technology for on-purpose butadiene combined with our experience in downstream applications and our ability to rapidly scale and commercialise the process can expand our industry's approach to C4 production, seizing a promising business opportunity in a market that is experiencing a critical time," said Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis.

The agreement between the three parties builds upon a series of recent key events including the June 2011 formation of Matrìca, a 50:50 joint venture in bio-based chemicals production between Versalis and Novamont; the announcement that Versalis plans to heavily invest in innovation and capitalise on elastomers, and Genomatica's successful production of pound quantities of bio-based butadiene in August 2011.

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Press release from Versalis