Lanxess buys into bio-chemical company

ERJ staff report (DS)

Leverkusen, Germany -- Lanxess AG has acquired a minority share in US biofuel & biochemical company Gevo, Inc. as part of a proposed cooperation to produce isobutene from renewable resources.

Lanxess has invested USD 10 million in the Denver, Colorado-based company. As part of the deal, Ron Commander, head of Lanxess' butyl rubber business, has been named as a board member of Gevo.

Gevo is developing a fermentation process to produce the organic compound isobutanol from the fermentable sugars in biomass, starting with corn. Isobutanol is a fundamental building block for making biodiesel, bio jet fuel as well as plastics, rubber and fibres.

Gevo and Lanxess intend to produce isobutene by dehydrating isobutanol. Researchers from Lanxess innovation department and the butyl rubber business unit are working together to optimise the dehydration process, which has proven successful in the laboratory.

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Press release from Lanxess