Versalis, Genomatica and Novamont have agreed to establish a strategic partnership to enable production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks.
The partnership will develop a comprehensive "end-to-end" process for production of polymer-grade butadiene from biomass.
Butadiene is a raw material used in the production of rubber for tires, electrical appliances, footwear, plastics, asphalt modifiers, additives for lubricating oil, pipes, building components and latex.
Versalis will hold a majority interest in the joint venture holding company and aims to be the first to build commercial plants using the process technology upon project success.
Under the agreement, Versalis will use Genomatica's process technology, which is intended to be made available for future licensing in Europe, Africa and Asia.
The agreement between the three parties builds upon a series of recent key events including the June 2011 formation of Matrica, a 50:50 joint venture in bio-based chemicals production between Versalis and Novamont; the announcement that Versalis plans to heavily invest in innovation and capitalize on Elastomers, and Genomatica's successful production of pound quantities of bio-based butadiene in August 2011.
