Tate & Lyle, a global provider of ingredients to beverage, food and other industries, signs a joint development agreement with Genomatica, headquartered in San Diego, California, for manufacturing Bio-BDO (1,4-butanediol).
The fermentation knowledge and operational efficiencies of Tate & Lyle combined with Genomatica’s technology and experience will support commercialization of the Bio-BDO product.
BDO is an intermediate chemical. The product is used to produce automotive plastics, insulation, spandex, running shoes, and other derivatives. BDO has a global market value of $4 billion. Using Genomatica’s technology, the BDO product is produced from 100% renewable ingredients. This is the same BDO, which is currently produced from a range of petroleum-derived ingredients.
As a part of the agreement, Tate & Lyle will bequeath its Decatur, Illinois-based demonstration-scale plant to Genomatica. This facilitates Genomatica to increase production process of Bio-BDO. The demonstration plant is getting ready for operations. The fermentation process is expected to commence in the second quarter.
President of Bulk Ingredients, Tate & Lyle, Matt Wineinger states that the company is happy to work with Genomatica for commercializing its Bio-BDO product.