Global Bioenergies, an industrial company engaged in the development of biological processes for producing light olefins, has partnered with Synthos, a synthetic rubber manufacturer, to develop and industrialize an innovative process to produce butadiene from renewable resources.
Butadiene, which is currently produced from oil, is one of the key components of the petrochemical industry. Every year, approximately 10mT of butadiene are produced and two thirds of it is utilized for synthetic rubber production. Rest of the quantity is used to produce ABS plastics, latices, nylon and other polymers.
Synthos will be responsible for the industrialization phase of the project and Global Bioenergies will be involved in the R&D process at the laboratory level. Global Bioenergies will receive royalty payments, multi-million euro development fees and research funding from Synthos. The agreement also includes an equity investment of €1.4 million in Global Bioenergies.
Chairman of Synthos, Tomasz Kalwat stated that the development of low-cost and eco-friendly bio-butadiene process enables Synthos to produce next generation synthetic rubber. The partnership provides Synthos a competitive benefit in the future.