The bioeconomy is protagonist at COP21 in Paris. BioAmber, a leader in renewable materials, yesterday announced that it has joined the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, alongside more than 140 companies from across the American economy that are standing with the Obama Administration to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to climate action and to voice support for a strong outcome to the COP21 Paris climate negotiations.
BioAmber uses biotechnology to convert renewable sugars into succinic acid, a building block chemical used to make a wide range of products including plastics, paints, textiles, synthetic leather, polyesters and personal care products. BioAmber operates the world’s largest succinic acid manufacturing facility, a 30,000 metric ton (70 million pound) capacity plant in Sarnia, Canada. According the company based in Canada, its renewable technology is cost competitive with the petroleum-based process for making succinic acid, but is much more sustainable: it virtually eliminates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and significantly reduces energy consumption relative to the petrochemical process.
BioAmber supports the conclusion of a climate change agreement in Paris that takes a strong step forward toward a low-carbon, sustainable future. “We recognize – the company writes in a note – that delaying action on climate change will be costly in economic and human terms, while accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy will produce multiple benefits with regard to sustainable economic growth, public health, resilience to natural disasters, and the health of the global environment. Our mission is to produce materials made from renewable resources instead of fossil fuels, offering our customers competitively priced, sustainable building block chemicals that have the cleanest environmental footprint in the industry.”
BioAmber made the following pledge to help curb climate change: provide industry with succinic acid manufactured by a process that reduces GHG emissions by over 95% and energy consumption by over 60% relative to the conventional petrochemical manufacturing process; build and operate and additional 160,000 tons (350 million pounds) of renewable chemical manufacturing capacity by 2020 that cuts GHG emissions by 60% and energy consumption by 50% relative to the conventional petrochemical manufacturing process, reducing CO2 equivalent gases by over 650,000 tons per year; reduce the energy intensity at our existing 30,000 ton capacity manufacturing plant by 5% each year, achieving a 25% reduction by 2020.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 