AFYREN starts construction of its first biorefinery to produce biobased organic acids

Type of post: NEWS. 

AFYREN is making the leap to industrial-scale production as it begins construction of its first biorefinery at the Chemesis industrial platform located in France’s Grand Est region. The project’s international scope is underscored by support from the European Union, with a 20 M€ subsidy via the BBI JU for the AFTER-BIOCHEM project. 

Press release: “Green chemistry on an industrial scale: AFYREN starts construction of its first factory”, 09/12/2020. 

Related post: “20 M€ of funding for the flagship biorefinery of Afyren and the AFTER-BIOCHEM partnership”, 12/06/2020. 

Figure 1. AFYREN was born in Auvergne, in Jérémy Pessiot’s research labs at the University of Clermont-Ferrand. The first pilot plants were developed at the Biopôle Clermont-Limagne, one of Europe’s primary hubs for research, education, and development in the field of bioindustry (taken from AFYREN website).

Founded in 2012 and led by Nicolas Sordet and Jérémy Pessiot, AFYREN employs 30 people at its sites in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand and Carling/Saint-Avold. The company was selected in the French Tech 120 (the 120 most promising French start-ups) in January 2020 and received the “Efficient Solution” label from the Solar Impulse Foundation in November 2019.

Project name	AFYREN NEOXY. It is an industrial joint venture between AFYREN and Bpifrance's SPI fund, which holds a 49% stake.
Location	Carling/Saint-Avold (France). Total provides operational support for the project through its Total Développement Régional (TDR) entity, facilitating the installation of the future plant on the Chemesis industrial platform. AFYREN chose to establish itself in this strategic European location because of proximity to its suppliers and customers and to promote short supply chains for sustainable products.
Feedstock	Non-food biomass.
Products and production capacity	16 ktons of seven 100% biobased organic acids (acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid and caproic acid), serving a global market that is worth 10 billion euros and is growing at around 5% annually. These chemicals are used in the human and animal nutrition sectors, as well as cosmetics, perfumes, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.
Environmental impacts	- The process divides the CO2 emissions by 3 compared with traditional production methods for carboxylic acids of fossil origin. - By reusing agricultural waste, the factory will increase the economic and environmental sustainability of sugar beet, a key European crop. - The plant is aiming for “zero industrial waste.” Its industrial process will not require external water consumption, and all by-products will be put to good use. - Its location in the Grand Est region places it as close as possible to both supplies and customers.
Employment effect	The creation of a competent and committed team will create nearly 60 direct jobs and up to 200 indirect jobs in the industrial and construction/engineering sectors.
Timeline	AFYREN’s industrial team has been giving 100 % to this project for almost two years. Today, things are really taking shape with the launching of the plant’s construction. The next big steps are the completion of civil engineering works, the installation of the first pieces of equipment and the construction of the administrative building. Commissioning of the industrial unit is planned for early 2022.