BioAmber Inc. filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code and that its two Canadian subsidiaries, BioAmber Sarnia Inc. and BioAmber Canada Inc., filed a Notice of Intention to make a proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada), with a view to strengthening the company’s financial health and solidifying its long-term business prospects.
BioAmber has a new Chief Executive Officer. The Board of Directors of the renewable materials company based in Canada announced yesterday the appointment of Richard P. Eno as its new CEO and new member of the Board, effective September 18th, 2017. The selection of Eno caps a search process facilitated by Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm which specializes in placing senior management personnel.
“We believe that we are at the beginning of an evolution in the chemical industry where man has the ability to replace some chemicals that have been produced via the petro route with the same chemicals now using sugar as their source of carbon instead of fossil fuels”. Mike Hartmann, executive vice president of BioAmber, talks to Il Bioeconomista
BioAmber is a sustainable chemicals company, whose proprietary technology platform combines industrial biotechnology and chemical catalysis to convert renewable feedstock into building block chemicals for use in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, resins, food additives and personal care products. The company, which is one of the main world bioeconomy’s players, has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2013, under the symbol BIOA. And is also listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris exchange, under the same symbol. BioAmber is a Delaware corporation with a head office in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a research facility in Plymouth (Minneapolis), Minnesota, and a commercial plant operating in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Its investors include Sofinnova Partners (France), Naxos Capital Partners (Luxemburg), Mitsui & Co. (Japan), Lanxess (Germany) and the Cliffton Group (Canada).
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Comet Biorefining, the Canadian bio-based company, has signed an off-take agreement with bio-succinic acid producer BioAmber for high-purity dextrose from Comet’s planned commercial plant in Sarnia, Ontario.
The dextrose will be produced from agricultural residues using Comet’s innovative technology.
Mitsui & Co., one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment, and service enterprises in the world (with 140 offices in 66 countries) and BioAmber’s partner in the Sarnia bio-based succinic acid plant, is investing an additional CDN$ 25 million in the joint venture for 10% of the equity, increasing its stake from 30% to 40%. Mitsui will also play a stronger role in the commercialization of bio-succinic acid produced in Sarnia, providing dedicated resources alongside BioAmber’s commercial team. BioAmber will maintain a 60% controlling stake in the joint venture.
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, a leader in renewable chemistry, announced opening of world’s largest succinic plant in Sarnia, Canada, that was built with Mitsui & Co and uses biotechnology to produce sustainable chemicals from sugar.
The Flokser Group, a global leader in leather and suede fabrics, has successfully developed an innovative artificial leather fabric using bio-based materials supplied by DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products and BioAmber.
BioAmber Sarnia’s new bio-based succinic acid plant, the first and only commercial scale production plant of its kind in the world, will receive a $12 million investment from the Harper Government to support its construction in Sarnia.
The announcement was made by Patricia Davidson, Member of Parliament for Sarnia–Lambton, alongside the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The plant is expected to create 150 construction jobs and 60 permanent jobs once the plant is operational at the end of 2014.
Faurecia e Mitsubishi Chemical hanno firmato una partnership per lo sviluppo e la produzione entro il 2014 di una bioplastica da impiegare negli interni delle automobili. A renderlo noto sono le due società, che si muoveranno attraverso una joint venture con la thailandese PTT per l’avvio di un impianto di PBS (Polibutilene succinato) con una capacità produttiva di 20mila tonnellate all’anno in Thailandia.
La francese Faurecia, uno dei più grandi gruppi mondiali per la componentistica per l’industria automobilistica, aveva già avviato nel 2006 un progetto denominato BioMat per la produzione di bioplastiche da materiali naturali. Oggi arriva la partnership con i giapponesi di Mitsubishi con lo scopo di sviluppare una gamma completa di bioplastiche per gli interni delle autovetture. Secondo le stime del Gruppo parigino, l’impiego di queste plastiche di derivazione biologica sarà protagonista di un vero e proprio boom nel periodo tra il 2015 e il 2020.
I vincoli ambientali, associati alla riduzione del peso dei veicoli e alla nuova regolamentazione europea che mira ad aumentare la riciclabilità dei materiali utilizzati nel settore automobilistico (85% in Europa entro il 2015) spingono infatti verso l’impiego di nuovi materiali derivati da risorse naturali, al posto della plastica derivata dal petrolio. L’iniziativa franco-giapponese mira in questo senso a garantire che i materiali utilizzati abbiano un impatto positivo sull’intero ciclo di vita del prodotto: dall’estrazione iniziale fino allo smaltimento.
Entrando nei dettagli, obiettivo condiviso di Faurecia e Mitsubishi Chemical è lo sviluppo di un biopolimero (il polibutilene succinato) che può essere utilizzato nella produzione di massa delle parti interne delle auto, attraverso l’impiego di acido succinico bio-based fornito dalla società francese biotech BioAmber. Gradualmente, secondo i due gruppi industriali, si arriverà all’impiego del 100% di materiali di derivazione biologica nelle autovetture. Faurecia deterrà i diritti esclusivi per le applicazioni automotive dei nuovi biopolimeri.
Nicolas Pechnyk, Vice Presidente per l’Ingegneria di Faurecia Interior Systems, è convinto che “questo accordo strategico con Mitsubishi Chemical farà di Faurecia il primo fornitore dell’industria automobilistica di plastiche bio-based al 100%, prodotte in massa”. “Siamo fiduciosi – ha sottolineato Pechnyk – che l’impiego di questa tecnologia porterà alla sostituzione totale delle plastiche oil-based con plastiche bio-based. E’ questo il caposaldo della nostra strategia Bioattitude”.
Felice Amori
IL BIOECONOMISTA 