Invista’s technology and licensing business – Invista Performance Technologies (IPT) – and Plaxica, a chemical technologies company focused on the development of technology for the production of low cost lactic acid from biomass (founded in 2008 as a spin-out from Imperial College, London), have entered into a collaboration that is expected to accelerate the commercialisation of Plaxica’s technology.
Under the agreement, in which Invista will have an option for an equity stake in Plaxica, Invista will provide Plaxica engineering, technical and commercial support from its global technology licensing organisation. The two companies will work together to develop and commercialise Plaxica’s lactic acid technology, which the companies believe will offer substantial cost and performance benefits to licensees in the polylactic acid and bio-propylene glycol value chains.