Italian biochemicals multinational Mossi Ghisolfi is considering selling its Italian business in the biofuels sector as part of a restructuring deal, a source close to the matter said to the International press agency Reuters.
The company, Italy’s second-biggest chemicals business behind that of oil group Eni, has hired Mediobanca to run the process, the source said to Reuters.
Situated in fields in the Piedmont region (in Crescentino), the biorefinery of Mossi Ghisolfi is the first plant in the world to be designed and built to produce bioethanol from agricultural residues and energy crops at commercial scale using enzymatic conversion.
The facility is the result of a collaboration between Beta Renewables, a cellulosic biofuels company based in Tortona (Italy) and owned by Mossi Ghisolfi, and Novozymes, the world’s largest producer of industrial enzymes, headquartered in Denmark.
The two companies formed a strategic partnership in October 2012, making Novozymes the preferred enzyme supplier for Beta Renewables’ current and future cellulosic biofuel projects.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 