Covestro and Genomatica produce significant volumes of biobased HMDA for the first time

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

Covestro and Genomatica have announced an important industry milestone to advance sustainability resulting from their partnership. The two companies have teamed to be the first to successfully produce significant volumes of a plant-based version of the chemical raw material HMDA (hexamethylene diamine).

Figure 1. Covestro employee Mario Lopes in the pilot plant where Covestro produced significant quantities of the bio-based raw material HMDA for the first time (taken from the press release)

HMDA, with a worldwide market of 2 million tons per year, is a key ingredient for a widely-used type of nylon (nylon-6,6), as well as an important component for raw materials for coatings and adhesives from Covestro. Up to now, HMDA has been manufactured from fossil feedstocks. Coatings and adhesives can be produced more sustainably thanks to bio-based HMDA, made from renewable feedstocks. Areas of application include automotive, construction, furniture, textiles and fibers.

Teams from Genomatica and Covestro have been working together to develop a commercial process technology for bio-based HMDA. The companies expect to produce ton quantities of high-quality material over the course of multiple production campaigns. Both partners are already processing and testing material from their initial production campaigns, and the resulting bio-HMDA is of high purity and quality. The companies plan to advance the program to full commercial scale, and Covestro has secured an option from Genomatica to license the resulting integrated GENO™ HMD process technology for commercial production.

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