BioAmber achieves important milestone

BioAmber announced today that construction of its 30,000 MT succinic acid plant in Sarnia, Ontario is substantially complete. Commissioning is progressing as planned and the plant is on schedule to begin commercial operations in Q3 2015.

All piping work has been completed and water tested and all motors have been tested. The production team, analytical staff and engineers have permanently relocated to the plant, and the facility is ready to begin receiving chemicals. The only remaining construction activities involve some instrumentation and control work, insulation of certain pipes, the paving of the site road and parking lot, the removal of scaffolding and the installation of a few wall panels on the exterior of the building.

“We are bringing an important chapter in Sarnia’s history to a close,” said Fabrice Orecchioni, BioAmber’s Chief Operations Officer. “As we accelerate our commissioning and start up efforts, we put behind us the risk and uncertainty related to the plant’s construction costs and schedule, and our focus now turns to achieving commercial operation in the next quarter.”

The control room and laboratories are operational and plant personnel are testing instrument controls in sequence. The next steps will include running initial fermentations and testing the purification equipment to confirm that the plant is producing bio-succinic acid that meets specifications. These activities will be carried out over the next two months. The Company plans to communicate on the outcome of these steps and subsequent milestones as the plant moves toward commercial operation.