France invests in the bioeconomy. Ademe, the Environment and Energy Management Agency, and the General Investment Commission have chosen the industrial biotech company Deinove and the Deinochem programme to solidify one of the key sectors of government support for industrial innovation.
To announce this is the top management of Deinove, a technological company that designs, develops and markets a new generation of industrial processes based on Deinococci bacteria. The company headquartered in Paris will receive significant funding – nearly 6 million euros – from the government that clearly wishes to support this sector.
In 2010, Deinove launched the first phase of its program Deinochem: isoprenoids (also called terpenoids), that are the largest family of natural substances in the world (more than 22,000 isoprene compounds have been listed). These are objects of many industrial applications and are found in creams, fragrances, detergents, and in some anti-cancer agents. Isoprenoids are mainly extracted from plants or produced by chemical synthesis but suffer from low yields and high production costs. The program’s objective is to develop a Deinochem strain Deinococcus able to increase the production of terpenes of industrial interest.
“We are delighted to support this internationally-ambitious French industrial project. Deinove was founded in France and works on developing solutions for tomorrow with breakthrough technologies, which are included as part of French innovations that need to be heavily supported in order to join the world-wide race ”, emphasized Arnaud Montebourg, Minister of Industrial Renewal.
“This is one of the highest levels of financial backing ever granted in plant chemistry from the French government. Our country has clearly placed biotechnologies at the heart of its industrial innovation programme and Deinove was identified in Anne Lauvergeon’s ‘Innovation 2030’ Report as a cutting-edge company in the field of plant chemistry, which is considered a strategic sector for the inevitable shift in energy sources; away from fossil fuels that pollute and are running out ”, commented Emmanuel Petiot, Chief Executive Officer of Deinove.
“We are very proud to have been chosen for this project. This support is combined with an ambitious investment programme which aims to help Deinove emerge as a major player in French biotechnologies within the framework of their global ambition ”, said Philippe Pouletty, Chairman and co-founder of the company.
On a global scale, green chemistry already constitutes a market of 135 billion dollars (100 billion euros) and a sharp increase is expected within the next few years. Europe is the world’s 2nd largest agricultural producer (according to FAO) with a large biomass reserve at its disposal, and has several leading groups in the fields of chemistry and agribusiness. France, the top agricultural producer in Europe, has the means to reinforce its leading position by the quality of its research and its technological innovation.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 