Bio-based chemicals become global investment "sweet pastry"

At the recent Advanced Bioeconomy Leaders Conference (ABLC) in Washington, biotechnology companies said that biotechnology provides more sustainable bio-based chemicals that can help achieve net-zero emissions
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At present, a lot of investment is pouring into the bio-based chemical industry, and the development of the industry is accelerating
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Ginomatica is a star enterprise in biosynthesis
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The company's founder and CEO Christoph Schilling said biotechnology will help enable a better future where consumer brands will be more actively involved in the industry than ever before
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Ginomatica currently has three technology platforms (C4, C6 and C8~C18 molecules) with a total potential market value of $30 billion
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The company has received significant investment in recent years
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A large plant in Italy using its 1,4-butanediol bioprocess has been operating since 2016
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Cargill and Hulme also recently announced a $300 million investment in a larger manufacturing facility in the U.
S.
state of Iowa
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In March, Ginomatica and Japan's Asahi Kasei announced a strategic partnership to commercialize renewable nylon 66 made from Ginomatica's bio-based hexamethylenediamine monomer
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Through this partnership, Asahi Kasei hopes to support its goal of providing the automotive and electronics industries with more sustainable nylon 66 based on plant-based raw materials, accelerating the achievement of its corporate sustainability goals
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Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of Lanzer Technologies, echoes Schilling's optimism about renewable materials
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Lanzer Technologies was founded in 2005 and focuses on the conversion of industrial waste, biomass and other sources of gases into fuels and chemicals
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Holmgren's customers and partners of Lanzer Technologies have committed to invest approximately US$800 million to date in the development of production facilities using Lanzer technology, including 2 plants in commercial operation and 7 plants under construction
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One plant has been operating since 2018 and has achieved the expected productivity
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In addition, LanzaTech announced on March 8 that it had signed a definitive merger agreement with AMCI, which will officially land on Nasdaq through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), and the merged company will be renamed LanzaTech Global
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The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022 for approximately $1.
8 billion
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At that point, the company can accept more investment
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Origin Materials of the United States has raised $925 million through SPACs in 2021
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The company's chief executive, John Bissell, told the ABLC conference that managing the company's two ongoing projects is Origin's top priority
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A recently announced project is a $750 million production facility in Geismar, Louisiana, that converts approximately 1 million tons of wood residue annually into chloromethylfurfural (CMF) and hydrothermal carbon (HTC)
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CMF can be used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and the company is building strategic relationships with three of the world's largest PET buyers by participating in an alliance invested by Danone, Nestlé and PepsiCo
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Together, the three companies consume 4.
75 million tonnes of plastic a year, roughly the output of 20 commercial-scale facilities, Bissell said
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Other biomass chemical companies have also gained investor interest
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Founded in 2016, Solugen is the first and only company in the world to apply synthetic biology, metal catalyst engineering and modular plant design to produce cost-competitive emerging specialty chemicals for water treatment, concrete and crop nutrition Producer of bio-based peroxide solutions
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Solugen raised $350 million in a Series C round in 2021 that will be used to expand production
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Solugen shipped about 22,700 tons of products last year, with sales of nearly $117 million
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