Basf and Acies Bio, one of Europe's leading biotechnology companies, have entered into a partnership to further develop a methanol fermentation technology platform for the production of fatty alcohols, essential building blocks of several ingredients in the home and personal care markets, particularly surfactants.
Acies Bio has developed "OneCarbonBio", a fully flexible synthetic biology platform designed to efficiently convert renewable methanol, derived from captured CO2 emissions, into a variety of chemical feedstocks. Under the terms of the partnership, BASF's Care Chemicals division and Acies Bio will develop the fermentation process to produce fatty acids and derivatives for the manufacture of various chemical compounds. Basf will contribute its expertise in process development, the provision of integrated value chain solutions and access to global markets.
"Biotechnology complements our chemistry to create a more sustainable future, said Dr Matthias Maase, Global Sustainability Director, Care Chemicals Basf. "We are very pleased to have found in Acies Bio the right partner to develop this innovation at an early stage. Thanks to a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, our research scope within the partnership covers the entire chain, from production strain development to large-scale manufacturing. This will benefit our customers in the personal care, detergent and industrial formulator sectors worldwide."
Gregor Kosec, R&D Director at Acies Bio, said: "The partnership with Basf marks an important milestone, reflecting significant recognition of Acies Bio's R&D efforts. By combining our advanced microbial production strains and the OneCarbonBio platform with Basf's proven process development and supply chain expertise, we are ready to take our technologies to a global scale (...)."
Image taken from theAcies Bio.
