Green Biologics buys Butylfuel

Deal “creates truly global leader in biobutanol”
 

UK-based industrial biotechnology firm Green Biologics (GBL) has merged with Butylfuel of the US, which makes renewable chemicals and biofuels, as of 1 January. The combined firm will be known as Green Biologics and will be headquartered in Abingdon, UK, though it will keep its US office at Richmond, Virginia, and the pilot facility, laboratories and offices at Columbus, Ohio.

CEO Sean Sutcliffe said that this “creates a truly global leader in biobutanol and represents a transformational deal for both companies”. The existing GBL was strongest in microbiology and fermentation and was present in China, India and Brazil, while Butylfuel was active in North America only, with strengths in bioprocessing and commercial scale-up. Its CEO Joel Stone will stay on as president for North America and global VP of engineering.

GBL will focus mainly on producing C₄ chemicals and advanced fuels from renewable feedstocks, primarily from waste and by-product agricultural sources. In North America, this refers mainly to starch-based and cellulosic feedstocks, for which the company has already developed solventogenic Clostridia strains for use as biocatalysts. By contrast, the main sources of feedstock in India and Brazil are cane and bagasse, while in China they are mainly molasses and corn by-products.

Last October, GBL had entered into a ccollaborative development and licensing agreement with Laihe Chemical, a Chinese company producing bio-fuels and biochemicals from non-food biomass resources.  Under this, they agreed to improve the economics of Laihe's biobutanol plant by optimising GBL’s fermentation technology using sugars derived using Laihe cellulosic pre-treatment process. Full commercial production is expected this year. 

Butanol and its derivatives are described as key intermediates in the production of paints, coatings, adhesives and inks, a market worth about $85 billion/year worldwide. Opportunities are also seen as a ‘drop-in’ biofuel that can directly replace gasoline and be blended with diesel or other biofuels. Butyl acrylates are also widely used in plastics and polymers.

Prior to the merger, GBL had twice featured in the Global Cleantech 100 list, most recently last October. This focuses on private clean technology companies from all around the world, specifically those most likely to make the most significant market impact over the next five to ten years. According to Sutcliffe, the award had driven business to it from India, China and Brazil.