BASF and CSM establish 50-50 joint venture for biobased succinic acid
05 October 2012. Back
to overview
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Succinity GmbH to become a leading succinic
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Plans for industrial scale succinic acid
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BASF and Purac, a subsidiary of CSM, are establishing
a joint venture for the production and sale of biobased succinic
acid. The company will be called Succinity GmbH and will be
operational in 2013. The establishment of Succinity GmbH is subject
to filing with the relevant competition authorities. The company
headquarters will be in Düsseldorf, Germany.
BASF and CSM have been conducting research under a
joint development agreement on succinic acid since 2009. The
complementary strengths in fermentation and downstream processing
led to the development of a sustainable and highly efficient
manufacturing process based on a proprietary microorganism. The
bacterium used is Basfia succiniciproducens which produces succinic
acid through natural processes and is capable of metabolizing a
variety of renewable feedstocks into succinic acid. The new process
combines high efficiency with the use of renewable raw materials
and the fixation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
(CO2) in the production of succinic acid. This makes
biobased succinic acid an economically and ecologically attractive
alternative to petrochemical raw materials.
The demand for succinic acid is anticipated to grow strongly in the
years ahead, driven mainly by bioplastics, chemical intermediates,
solvents, polyurethanes and plasticizers. The two companies are
currently modifying an existing fermentation facility, at Purac's
Montmélo site near Barcelona, Spain, for the production of succinic
acid. This plant, which will commence operations in late 2013 with
an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons of succinic acid, will put
the new joint venture company in a leading position in the global
marketplace. This is complemented by plans for a second large-scale
facility with a capacity of 50,000 tons of succinic acid to enable
the company to respond to the expected increase in demand. The
final investment decision for this facility will be made following
a successful market introduction.
"Our strategy clearly focuses on innovations for a sustainable
future. Chemistry driven innovations get their clues from
megatrends, such as the shift to renewable raw materials. The
development of a succinic acid production process based on
fermentation in cooperation with Purac is a good example of this
strategy being put into practice" said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer,
Member of the Board of Executive Directors and Research Executive
Director of BASF.
"CSM is developing into a leading provider of biobased
ingredients and solutions. Our joint venture with BASF for the
production and sale of succinic acid is a milestone in
this journey. The succinic acid project is fully in line with our
strategy to develop commercially attractive biobased alternatives
using renewable and sustainable resources" explained Gerard
Hoetmer, Chief Executive Officer of CSM.
"Our cooperation with Purac to produce biobased succinic acid
is a perfect example of how we enable our customers in many
industries to develop sustainable solutions" said Sanjeev
Gandhi, President, BASF Intermediates division.
"We know from many discussions with customers and
samples we sent them that the demand for biobased succinic acid for
a.o. biodegradable plastics is set to grow faster and more strongly
than expected earlier" said Fabrizio Rampinelli, President of
Purac, and added: "We look forward to providing a high-quality
product globally to customers in this industry at our usual high
service levels."