20 M€ of funding for the flagship biorefinery of Afyren and the AFTER-BIOCHEM partnership
Type of post: NEWS.
A new flagship biorefinery will be built in
France supported by the European Commission (EC) and the Bio-based Industry
Joint Undertaking (BBI JU). Afyren and the AFTER-BIOCHEM partnership have obtained
a funding of 20 M€ for the industrial production of new biobased products.
Press release: “AFYREN
and the AFTER-BIOCHEM European consortium obtain a funding of 20 million euros
for the industrial production of new bio-based products”, 11/6/2020.
Figure 1. Short distance ecosystem of Afyren
Neoxy (taken from the company website). In 2018, Afyren embarked on the
realization of its industrial project Afyren Neoxy with the creation of a Joint
Venture with the Spi fund from Bpifrance.
Nicolas Sordet (CEO of AFYREN): “Together, we
are willing to contribute to the development of a sustainable European model of
biorefinery, relying on low-carbon emission and circular bioeconomy principles”.
Project profile
Name
|
AFTER-BIOCHEM
(Anaerobic Fermentation & EsteRification of BIOmass for producing fine
CHEMicals)
|
General objective
|
It aims
to develop the first all-in-one chemical platform for transforming the sugar
industry’s sidestreams into biosourced molecules and derivatives of
industrial interest.
|
Feedstocks
|
The
feedstocks for the fermentation process will be sugar production byproducts
such as beet pulp and molasses, to increase the sustainability of sugar beet,
a key European crop.
The process
will be sufficiently flexible to be able to adapt to alternative feedstocks.
|
Products
|
In the
fermentation process robust mixes of naturally occurring micro-organisms will
produce organic acids such as propionic, butyric, isobutyric, valeric,
isovaleric and caproic acids, with a mineral fertilizer sidestream. Based on
the acids, a substantial number of derivatives may be produced, such as Vinyl
Acetate Monomer (VAM) and cellulose acetate. The esterification process will
convert the acetic acid into ethyl acetate and the propionic acid into ethyl
propionate to maximize product value and minimize waste and energy use.
The
products will represent valuable renewable, biobased, domestically sourced
alternatives to petrochemical products in numerous high-value applications
such as flavorings and fragrances, hygiene products, pharmaceuticals,
antimicrobials and polymers.
|
Type of
action
|
Innovation
Action – Flagship
|
Start date
– End date
|
01 May
2020 – 30 April 2024.
The
objective from 2020 to 2022 will be to commission the flagship biorefinery in
France (CHEMESIS industrial platform in Carling-Saint-Avold), which will then
run at full capacity and integrate esterification from 2022 to 2024.
Two
further biorefineries should be initiated in Europe from 2024. The annual
revenue generated by the three plants represents 150 M€, and at least 180
direct technical jobs and a commensurate number of indirect jobs would be
created.
|
Overall
budget – BBI JU contribution
|
33,080,986.37
€ – 19,959,552.01 €.
|
Coordinator
|
Afyren Neoxy (France)
|
Partners
|
Celanese Europe BV (Netherlands)
Fiabila (France)
Firmenich SA
(Switzerland)
Kemin Europa NV (Belgium)
Omya International AG (Switzerland)
PNO Consultants (France)
Sudzucker AG (Germany)
Suez Groupe (France)
Technip France SAS (France)
Thinkstep GmbH (Germany)
|
