BioAmber Inc.

BioAmber Inc.
Public
Traded as NYSE: BIOA, Euronext: BIOA
Industry Renewable Chemicals
Founded 2008
Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Jean-François Huc
(Chief Executive Officer)
Thomas Desbiens
(General Counsel)
Mario Saucier
(Chief Financial Officer)
Mike Hartmann
(Executive Vice President)
James Millis
(Chief Technology Officer)
Fabrice Orecchioni
(Chief Operations Officer)
Products Bio-based Succinic Acid, 1,4-Butanediol, Disodium Succinate
Website http://www.bio-amber.com

BioAmber Inc. is a sustainable chemicals company. Its proprietary technology platform combines industrial biotechnology and chemical catalysis to convert renewable feedstock into building block chemicals for use in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, resins, food additives and personal care products.[1] BioAmber has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2013, under the symbol BIOA.[2] The company is also listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris exchange, under the same symbol.[3] BioAmber is a Delaware corporation with a head office in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a research facility in Plymouth (Minneapolis), Minnesota, and a commercial plant operating in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.[4] BioAmber’s investors include Sofinnova Partners (France), Naxos Capital Partners (Luxemburg), Mitsui & Co. (Japan), LANXESS (Germany) and the Cliffton Group (Canada).[5]

History

BioAmber was established in 2008 as a result of a spin-off from New York-based Diversified Natural Products (DNP). The company was originally named DNP Green Technology. Prior to the spin-off, DNP had established a joint venture with France-based Agro-Industrie Recherches et Développements (ARD). The goal of the joint venture was to develop and commercialize bio-based succinic acid, and the JV was named BioAmber. In 2010, DNP Green Technology acquired 100 percent of the joint venture from ARD and changed its corporate name to BioAmber.[6]

After the Company was spun off from DNP, it was privately financed in 2009 by a group of institutional investors led by Sofinnova Partners, Mitsui & Co., Samsung Ventures and the Cliffton Group.[7] In 2011 and 2012, Naxos Capital Partners and Lanxess became investors in the Company, which raised a total of $87 million over three rounds of financing between 2009[8] and 2012.[9] In May 2013, BioAmber completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BIOA, raising $80 million in gross proceeds and issuing warrants for an additional $44 million in common stock.[10]

Technology

BioAmber produces bio-based succinic acid by fermenting sugars. The company uses proprietary yeast that it has exclusively licensed from Cargill. Cargill originally developed the yeast for the production of lactic acid and has been using the yeast at commercial scale since 2009.[11] The yeast has the ability to ferment at a low pH and tolerate high concentrations of succinic acid, giving it a distinct advantage over other organisms producing succinic acid via fermentation.[12] BioAmber collaborated with Cargill in the development and scale up of the succinic acid yeast and achieved the final milestone in September 2013. BioAmber has designed its commercial plant in Sarnia to operate with the yeast technology.[13]

BioAmber has licensed from Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies a catalyst technology that converts bio-based succinic acid into bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO).[14] The technology involves the vapor phase hydrogenation of succinic acid into the BDO and tetrahydrofuran (THF).[15] JM Davy is reportedly the global leader in BDO and THF technology, with 14 licenses deployed representing approximately 800,000 tons per year of installed BDO and THF capacity, or 25% of worldwide capacity.[16] Their technology currently produces BDO/THF from maleic anhydride, a petrochemical. The first step in that route converts MA to succinic acid, thus succinic is an alternative feedstock.[17] JM Davy has adjusted its process and tested BioAmber's bio-succinic acid so it can substitute maleic anhydride without impacting performance, process economics or product quality.[18]

BioAmber has also exclusively licensed the Cargill yeast for the production of bio-based adipic acid.[19] The company has exclusively licensed a metabolic pathway from Celexion, a Boston-based biotech company. The pathway enables the production of bio-based adipic acid, hexamethylenediamine (HMD), caprolactam, hexanediol and caprolactone, using fermentable sugars.[20] In the summer of 2013 BioAmber achieved a development milestone related to the production of adipic acid in the yeast licensed from Cargill.[21]

Sustainability

The use of fermentation to produce building block chemicals offers the prospect of an improved carbon footprint and lower energy intensity than the petrochemical route to the same chemicals. BioAmber claims that an independent life cycle analysis of its facility under construction in Sarnia concluded that it emits only 0.04 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent gases (greenhouse gases) per kilogram of bio-succinic acid produced. According to the Company, 7.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent gases are emitted per kilogram of succinic acid produced using the petrochemical route, representing a 99.4% reduction. The life cycle analysis also indicates that the facility in Sarnia consumes 56% less energy than the current petrochemical process. The Company claims that the independent life cycle analysis shows that field-to-gate energy use will be 42.7 mega joules per kilogram of bio-succinic acid produced, as compared to the current petrochemical process, which uses 97.7 mega joules per kilogram of succinic acid produced.[22]

Manufacturing

BioAmber produced bio-based succinic acid from January 2010 to December 2014 at a large demonstration plant owned and operated by the Company’s former joint venture partner, ARD.[23] The demonstration plant operated at the 350,000 liter fermenter scale, which at the time was one of the largest scale fermentations among start-up companies in the field of bio-based chemicals.[24] BioAmber claim to have gained extensive experience from operating this plant for five years and incorporated the learning and improvements into the design of its commercial plant in Sarnia, Canada.[25]

BioAmber established a joint venture with Mitsui & Co. to build and operate a 30,000 metric ton (66 million pounds) capacity bio-succinic acid plant in Sarnia, Ontario,[26] with BioAmber owning 70% of the venture.[27] The facility began construction in August 2013 and began commercial operations in November 2015.[28] The cost of construction was US$141 million and it created 60 full-time jobs.[29] It is the world’s largest bio-based succinic acid plant.[30]

Markets

Succinic acid is a platform chemical that can be used in a broad range of markets, from high value niche applications such as personal care products and food additives, to large volume applications such as plasticizers, polyurethanes, resins and coatings.[31] In 2004, the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) published a report on “Top Value-Added Chemicals from Biomass,” identifying the top opportunities for the production of chemicals from biomass. The study prioritized twelve chemicals, from a group of over 300 possible building blocks that could be most effectively manufactured from sugars. Bio-succinic acid was recognized as one of the renewable building block chemicals with the greatest technical feasibility and commercial potential.[32]

Historically, the high cost of producing succinic acid from petroleum feedstock limited its use to a narrow range of applications such as pharmaceuticals and food ingredients. As a result, based on 2011 estimates, the market for petroleum-based succinic acid was approximately 51,000 metric tons per year, representing a market size of approximately $350 million.[33] However, market research firms and consultants predict that manufacturing bio-succinic acid will make succinic acid economically feasible for use in greater volumes across a spectrum of new applications. A study published in September 2013 by Transparency Market Research projects that the global market for succinic acid will grow at a CAGR of 19.4% between 2012 and 2018.[34] A study published in August 2012 by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, projects that the succinic acid market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of between 25% and 30% through 2020, when the global market size is expected to be between 500,000 and 700,000 metric tons.[35]

The major uses of 1,4 BDO are in the production of THF and polybutylene terephthalate, or PBT.[36] THF is used to produce spandex fibers and other performance polymers, resins, solvents and printing inks for plastics. PBT is an engineering-grade thermoplastic that combines excellent mechanical and electrical properties with robust chemical resistance. The automotive and electronics industries heavily rely on PBT to produce connectors, insulators, wheel covers, gearshift knobs and reinforcing beams. Global 1,4-butanediol market size was estimated at USD 4.72 billion in 2013.[37]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Chemistry Inspired by Nature". BioAmber. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  2. ↑ "BioAmber Inc. (BIOAU) IPO". Nadsaq. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  3. ↑ "BioAmber". NYSE Euronext. March 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  4. ↑ Morden, Paul (November 6, 2015). "New Sarnia plant has begun shipping to customers". The Sarnia Observer. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  5. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  6. ↑ De Guzman, Doris (November 16, 2010). "DNP Green becomes BioAmber". ICIS. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  7. ↑ "Venture Capital". Venture Deal. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  8. ↑ "BioAmber Closes $45 Million Series B to Fund Succinic and Adipic Platforms". PR Newswire. May 4, 2011. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  9. ↑ "BioAmber Closes $30 Million Financing with LANXESS and Existing Investors". PR Newswire. February 22, 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  10. ↑ "BioAmber Inc. Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering". PR Newswire. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  11. ↑ "Cargill wins 2010 Industrial Biotechnology Award". Agri Marketing. March 24, 2010. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  12. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  13. ↑ "BioAmber reaches milestone in succinic acid production". Canadian Biomass Magazine. October 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  14. ↑ Kula, Tyler (April 9, 2015). "Sarnia still in the running to host $500-million BioAmber plant". The Sarnia Observer. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  15. ↑ "BioAmber Produces Bio-based 1,4-Butanediol (1,4-BDO)". PR Newswire. March 27, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  16. ↑ De Guzman, Doris (April 20, 2015). "BioAmber partners with JM Davy for bio-BDO/THF". Green Chemicals Blog. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  17. ↑ De Guzman, Doris (April 20, 2015). "BioAmber partners with JM Davy for bio-BDO/THF". Green Chemicals Blog. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  18. ↑ De Guzman, Doris (April 20, 2015). "BioAmber partners with JM Davy for bio-BDO/THF". Green Chemicals Blog. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  19. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  20. ↑ "BioAmber secures licensing agreement with Celexion". Biomass Magazine. March 17, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  21. ↑ "BioAmber's CEO Discusses Q2 2013 Results - Earnings Call Transcript". Seeking Alpha. August 12, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  22. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  23. ↑ "ARD Bio-Based Succinic Acid Plant, France". Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  24. ↑ Chatsko, Maxx (May 30, 2013). "Is BioAmber a Good Long-Term Investment?". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  25. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  26. ↑ Morden, Paul (June 14, 2013). "Ground-breaking for new Sarnia plant expected this summer". The Sarnia Observer. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  27. ↑ "Government of Canada Invests in Clean Technology for Jobs and Growth in Sarnia". Federal Development Ontario. August 28, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  28. ↑ Morden, Paul (April 6, 2015). "New Sarnia plant has begun shipping to customers". The Sarnia Observer. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  29. ↑ Morden, Paul (April 6, 2015). "New Sarnia plant has begun shipping to customers". The Sarnia Observer. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  30. ↑ "World’s Largest Biobased Succinic Acid Plant Opens". Environmental Leader. August 7, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-17.
  31. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  32. ↑ "Top Value Added Chemicals from Biomass, Volume 1: Results of Screening for Potential Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy. November 1, 2004. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  33. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  34. ↑ "Succinic Acid Market is Expected to Reach USD 836.2 Million by 2018: Transparency Market Research". PRWeb. October 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  35. ↑ "BioAmber S-1/A". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 9, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-11.
  36. ↑ "1,4-Butanediol (BDO)". Lyondell Basell. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  37. ↑ "1,4-Butanediol (BDO) Market Analysis By Application (Tetrahydrofuran, Polybutylene Teraphthalate, Gamma-Butyrolactone & Polyurethanes), And Segment Forecasts To 2020". Grand View Research. September 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
  38. ↑ "Biobased succinic acid going commercial: BioAmber wins Bio-renewable Chemicals Technology Award 2009 from Frost & Sullivan". Bio-Based News. April 17, 2009. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  39. ↑ "2011 Small Business Award: BioAmber Inc. - Integrated Production and Downstream Applications of Biobased Succinic Acid". United States Environmental Protection Agency. June 20, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  40. ↑ "BioAmber Wins ICIS Innovation Award for Best Business Innovation". PR Newswire. October 17, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  41. ↑ "Emerging Company - Ind.&Ag". BIOTECanada. Retrieved 2015-12-03.

External links

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