{"id":116605,"date":"2022-10-05T07:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T05:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=116605"},"modified":"2022-10-04T09:07:26","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T07:07:26","slug":"metgens-acceleration-a-hat-trick-of-deals-put-the-lignin-pioneer-on-a-new-trajectory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/metgens-acceleration-a-hat-trick-of-deals-put-the-lignin-pioneer-on-a-new-trajectory\/","title":{"rendered":"MetGen\u2019s Acceleration: A hat-trick of deals put the lignin pioneer on a new trajectory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

First, a commercial license for biorefineries with\u00a0Futurity<\/strong>\u00a0in New Zealand; second, a partnership with\u00a0Ivy Farms<\/strong>\u00a0to develop an industrial process for bioactive molecules they use in their cultivated meat technology; third, a partnership with\u00a0Technip Energies<\/strong>\u00a0for the industrialization of MetGen\u2019s METNIN technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technip Energies<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

METNIN<\/strong> is an enzymatic process technology that enables the fractionation of lignin from lignocellulosic feedstocks to produce various renewable bio-products. Technip Energies and MetGen have signed a Memorandum of Understanding<\/a> to jointly bring a standardized solution for lignin refining to the global market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those newer to lignin, it is the world\u2019s most abundant biopolymer and the least used. It\u2019s the substance that gives vertical strength, allowing plants and trees to stand up. It\u2019s complexity makes it hard for microbes to attack it \u2014 so, what makes it useful to trees makes it difficult for industrialists \u2014 and today, generally speaking, lignin is a high-volume waste stream of biorefineries that is currently burned. Only Borregaard<\/strong> has a vanillin technology that effectively valorizes the lignin stream. That\u2019s changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bhaskar Patel, SVP Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals & Circularity of Technip Energies, commented:\u201cMETNIN technology is a game changer for the future operators of biorefineries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over at Futurity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s turn to the Futurity news. Through this agreement, Futurity can build and operate lignin-centric biorefineries using METNIN Technologies. The partnership will allow the development of a full range of high value lignin-based products including resins and adhesives, foams, composites, bio-based chemicals and polymers to meet the growing needs of a fast changing world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the Valority<\/strong> process, Futurity\u2019s New Zealand pine lignin can substitute up to 40% of the oil-derived chemicals within traditional foams, improving the performance of the end-product and reducing the cost and carbon emissions during foam production. Applications include  fire retardant coatings, insulation & products, UV resistant paints, cosmetics, coating & additives, resins & adhesives, anti fouling, plus waterproof coatings & additives. All of it recyclable, compostable and a cost-saving for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where does MetGen fit in? Using the Sunburst process from Sweetwater Energy, Futurity mechanically separates the wood using steam and pressure into lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. The METNIN process from MetGen further separates the lignin using enzymes to produce multiple highly usable lignin streams. Then, Futurity\u2019s core technology, Valority, kicks in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about those refineries? Futurity is in the process of establishing New Zealand\u2019s first advanced commercial biorefinery in\u00a0Tair\u0101whiti-Gisborne<\/strong>. This plant will be the first of a number of biorefineries to be constructed around New Zealand.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivy Farms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s look at the Ivy Farms deal. It\u2019s a Joint Development Agreement to create and license a robust industrial production system for affordable bioactive molecules for cultivated meat<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ivy Farm licenses its technology from the University of Oxford and is aimed at becoming the UK\u2019s leading producer of cultivated meat, with three streams of revenue around cultivated pork, beef and chicken. As the IF team explains, \u201cJust like taking a cutting from a plant, we start by taking a sample of animal cells. But instead of a plant pot, we nurture our cells in a large tank called a bioreactor. Suspending them in a solution packed with nutrients to help them multiply into either muscle or fat. In just two to three weeks, under our careful watch, this small sample of cells multiplies to become several billion in number. Which is equal to one kilo of meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Bottom Line<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When Digest readers named MetGen\u2019s Lignin biorefinery project in Turku, Finland the #4 Hottest Project in the world earlier this year, they clearly knew something special was up. Of the three agreements, the Futurity deal has the biggest near-term prospects, since it is a license for multiple biorefineries. We wouldn\u2019t overlook the partnership with Technip, however, to optimize and industrialize the lignin process. That\u2019s a sign that major players have concluded, based on reviewing MetGen\u2019s technology, that lignin\u2019s time has come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MetGen backstory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MetGen was founded in 2008 and is based in Kaarina, Finland. MetGen\u2019s enzymes \u2013 METZYME \u2013 are industrial, highly-active, natural catalysts that accelerate chemical reactions and company uses advances in genetic engineering and microbiology to adapt enzymes to harsh industrial conditions and to handle a variety of lignocellulosic substrates. MetGen aims to be a widely recognized supplier of industrial enzymes, significantly contributing to the economics and sustainability of process industries such as biofuels and renewable chemicals. MetGen\u2019s competitive advantage is in tailoring or adapting enzymes to meet customer\u2019s specific needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaction from the stakeholders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLignin has vast potential to outperform and reduce our dependency on oil, historically the value and usefulness of lignin has been difficult to unlock through a commercially viable process at scale. MetGen\u2019s METNIN technology has overcome this barrier and will allow us to create high quality, low cost products that unlock the true value of the lignin.  This helps us to generate value from the entire tree including cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin which makes up around 25% of total mass\u201d said Futurity\u2019s Dr. Gaetano Dedual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MetGen\u2019s CEO Alex Michine said \u201cOver the past years MetGen has accumulated extensive experience on applying enzymes in industrial bio refineries\u201d. In this work, we have recognized how important it is to match the proper technologies throughout the value-chain. This is why we are excited about being the partner in Futurity project with our METNIN\u2122 platform.  Every processing step and every fraction of the raw material counts when creating renewable \u2013and affordable \u2013 chemicals and materials out of lignocellulosic biomass.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First, a commercial license for biorefineries with\u00a0Futurity\u00a0in New Zealand; second, a partnership with\u00a0Ivy Farms\u00a0to develop an industrial process for bioactive molecules they use in their cultivated meat technology; third, a partnership with\u00a0Technip Energies\u00a0for the industrialization of MetGen\u2019s METNIN technology. Technip Energies METNIN is an enzymatic process technology that enables the fractionation of lignin from lignocellulosic feedstocks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"From MetGen in Finland comes not one story but three, a hat-trick, and Biofuels Digest discusses them","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,12471,6195,5831,5840,10408,11828],"supplier":[17358,21087,20378],"class_list":["post-116605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-biopolymer","tag-bioproducts","tag-biorefinery","tag-enzymes","tag-greenchemistry","tag-lignin","supplier-futurity-group","supplier-ivy-farms","supplier-technip-energies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116605"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=116605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}