Background & Consortium

Climate change and the need for alternative carbon feedstocks in chemical industry

Greenhouse gas emissions could cause global average temperatures to increase by 4°C or more by 2100 and by 1.5 to 2 times as much in many midcontinent and northern locations. These emissions are strongly linked to the current (>90%) fossil-based processes to produce chemicals and materials. Since carbon is an essential constituent in many chemicals and materials, the chemical industry thus faces the long-term challenge to move towards a CO₂ neutral rather than a carbon-free world and efforts are undertaken to broaden its feedstock basis. While biomass is increasingly being used, CO₂ and renewable energy are the only abundant sources of energy and carbon on the long term and the ultimate sustainable resources in the circular economy. Therefore, carbon capture and the utilization via microbial conversion into valuable platform chemicals is combined within BioRECO₂VER to set a representative base for a future much wider range of products and applications.

The Consortium

A total number of 12 partners from 8 different countries are working on the BioRECO₂VER project. All activities will be executed by a well-balanced and experienced group of 2 Research and Technology Organizations (RTO), 2 universities, 4 industrial SMEs and 4 large industries. The partnership covers the whole value chain both at RTO and industrial level: CO₂ emission and capture, microbial strain development, bioprocess development, downstream processing, model-based process optimization and end use of products, supported with techno-economic and sustainability assessment.

Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Belgium

VITO is a leading independent European research organization in the areas of cleantech and sustainable development. The business unit of Separation and Conversion Technology has organized its strategic research program around the theme ‘Sustainable Chemistry’ with special focus on (1) process intensification through the integration of separation processes with chemical, microbial, enzymatic or bio-electrochemical conversion processes, and (2) the use of alternative feedstocks, such as CO_2.

EnobraQ, France

EnobraQ is a start-up company created in 2015, from a pre-competitive research project supported by Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB). Concerned with ecological and economic considerations, EnobraQ develops breakthrough technologies that use CO₂ and target markets as diverse as nutrition, agri-food, cosmetics, pharmacology and bioplastics

LULEA TEKNISKA UNIVERSITET (LTU), Sweden

The Biochemical Process Engineering research group at LTU consists of 18 people working with pretreatment, design and use of enzymes and microorganisms for production of fuels, chemicals and materials from lignocellulosic materials. Their expertise ranges from molecular biology, metabolic engineering, microbial physiology, fermentation technology, enzyme discovery, protein chemistry, enzyme technology, process technology to modelling of bioprocesses.

Global Bioenergies

Global Bioenergies is the only company in the world to have developed a conversion process for renewable resources (residual sugars, agricultural and forestry waste) into isobutene, one of the petrochemical building blocks that can be converted into ingredients for cosmetics, petrol, kerosene, LPG and plastics. Global Bioenergies continues to improve the performance of its process, conducts trials on its demo plant in Germany and is preparing the first full-sized plant in a Joint‐Venture with Cristal Union. Global Bioenergies is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (FR0011052257 – ALGBE).

IDENER, Spain

IDENER is a research SME that investigates in the multidisciplinary field of Computational Science and its application to the optimization of systems and processes in key areas: Industrial Technologies; ICTs; Biotechnology; Energy; and Resource and Raw Materials Efficiency. This approach results in a high added value that sharpens the competitive edge of complex systems by providing improvements in performance and cost effectiveness.

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italy

The National Research Council (CNR) is the largest public research institution in Italy and is performing in multidisciplinary research activities. The National ReThe mission of the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry CNR-ICB is the study of chemical and biological systems in view of understanding their function and promoting their technological application. The institute operates in the fields of bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology, with expertise in the disciplines of spectroscopy, structural and synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular modeling, microbiology, pharmacology, nutraceutics and bioenergetics.

Universitat de Girona (UdG), Spain

Founded in 1992, UdG is currently one of the main economic and cultural drivers of the province of Girona, located in the north east of Catalonia. UdG participates in the project through two of its research groups: the Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and the Research Group in Molecular Microbial Ecology. LEQUIA investigates bioelectrochemical systems for bioremediation of contaminated waters, biogas upgrading and conversion of CO₂ to valuable products, whereas gEMM is devoted to the isolation and growth anaerobic microoganisms for biotechnological applications.

nova-Institut für ökologische und politische Innovation GmbH (nova), Germany

nova-Institut GmbH is a private and independent institute founded in 1994. Nova-Institute is a partner in various research projects within the fields of bio-based chemistry, materials and biotechnology and also concentrates on CCU technologies since several years. In its work it is surrounding, strengthening and completing the scientific and engineering work by linking it to feedstock, markets, economy, ecology and policy. Furthermore, nova is committed to do dissemination and marketing support.

CEMENTOS PORTLAND VALDERRIVAS SA (GCPV), Spain

The Cementos Portland Valderrivas Group is a multinational leader in the production of cement, concrete, aggregate and mortar. The Group, an FCC subsidiary, uses cutting-edge technologies to achieve economic optimization and ensure environmental friendliness in all its production processes. Cementos Portland Valderrivas Group has, in Spain, seven cement plants covering most of the country.

Arkema, France

The ARKEMA is a chemical group of 20000 employees and is is organized around three complementary business segments: High Performance Materials, Industrial Specialties and Coating Solutions. As a designer of materials and innovative solutions, Arkema shapes materials and creates new uses that accelerate customer performance in lightweight and design materials, biosourced materials, new energies, water management, solutions for electronics, and the performance and home insulation.

POLSKI KONCERN NAFTOWY ORLEN S.A. (PKN ORLEN), Poland

PKN ORLEN operates six refineries and is the region's largest network of service stations located in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Lithuania. The company processes crude oil into gasolines, diesel oil, fuel oil and aviation fuel. They are also a leading producer of petrochemicals, and their products are used as basic feedstocks by a large number of chemical companies.

Natureworks LLC (NTR), USA

NatureWorks is a world-leading biopolymers supplier and innovator with its Ingeo portfolio of naturally advanced materials made from renewable, abundant feedstocks with performance and economics that compete with oil-based intermediates, plastics, and fibers. Our manufacturing facility has a name plate capacity of 330 million pounds (150,000 metric tons) of Ingeo biopolymer. In 2003, we built the world’s largest lactic acid manufacturing facility to feed our polymer plant.