News arrived late last week that Cargill and HELM have formed a JV known as Qore to help leading brands replace fossil-based chemistries with bio-based intermediates, and are investing a combined $300 million to build the first commercial-scale, renewable BDO (1,4-butanediol) facility in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, let\u2019s look behind the headlines. Despite all the \u201cCalifornia, Here I Come\u201d exuberance of the bio-based fuels sector, we haven\u2019t seen the same activity levels on the biobased materials side. \u201cEddyville, Here I Come\u201d doesn\u2019t have quite the same ring as California\u2019s best-selling anthem. Yet, in its own way, it is even bigger news. As the partners noted in their announce, this is the first commercial-scale, renewable BDO facility in the U.S. It\u2019s perhaps the biggest signal we\u2019ve seen about the shape of the post-COVID industrial world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not D-Day, heroes hitting the Normandy beaches to save the world, but it might be B-Day, the day when the scale tipped and the payday for a long effort to re-industrialize the world on sustainable principles might be in sight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What exactly is BDO, how is it made biologically and by whom? Why Eddyville, why these partners, why now? There\u2019s lots to unpack in this storyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a chemical intermediate important in the apparel, automotive, electronics and packaging industries. Which is to say, if you can hold it, there\u2019s a pretty good chance there\u2019s some BDO in it. The customers of those products are screaming for sustainable alternatives. Well, that sounds a little angry. Let\u2019s say they are signaling for sustainable alternatives, they are wigwagging the manufacturers to flag them towards a lower carbon footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some time ago, Genomatica came up with a biology-based process that cut emissions by more than 50 percent, yet produced a drop-in replacement with no reduction in performance. Now, Cargill and HELM have driven that figure to 93 percent using the Genomatica process, which they\u2019ve licensed for this project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, the Qore joint venture will focus on producing QIRA, the next-generation 1,4-butanediol (BDO). Accordingly, QIRA can be used for making spandex and other polyester-based chemical fibers as well as biodegradable plastics, polyurethane coatings, sealants and artificial leathers, thereby improving their environmental footprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cargill and HELM plan to build the bio-based intermediate production facility at Cargill\u2019s existing biotechnology campus and corn refining operation in Eddyville, Iowa. The plant will be completed and operating in 2024 to meet the demanding specification of product supply chains. Qore is using Cargill\u2019s global feedstock supply and fermentation manufacturing expertise to initially produce and distribute an expected 65,000 metric tons per year minimally of its first bio-intermediate, QIRA. HELM will work with brand owners, original equipment manufacturers and their suppliers to incorporate QIRA into their respective products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the world of industrial transition, there\u2019s an awful lot of \u201cLater\u201d in corporate planning and not very much \u201cNow\u201d. So, there\u2019s often a lot of chatter about \u201cnet zero by 2050\u201d, for example, the key word in that phrase being \u201c2050\u201d, which is another way of saying that \u201cnone of us making this announcement will actually be working in these same roles and companies when it comes time to redeem this pledge\u201d. All too many companies remind us here in Digestville of how Esmerelda sang in The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/em>, \u201cAnd though I will die \/ Long before that morning comes \/ I\u2019ll die while believing still \/ It will come when I am gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some companies, some projects have found that there\u2019s an alternative to the Leisure of Later in the Power of Now. Here\u2019s one. Novamont\u2019s proven the process technology at a smaller scale in Europe. Now, we\u2019re looking at 65,000 tons per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cargill\u2019s VP Jill Zullo told me, \u201cConsumers really have seen, people in true lockdown saw the water in the canals in Venice and we\u2019ve seen the mountain peaks appearing in the Indian skies. There\u2019s a connection we are all now feeling between the things we do in our daily lives and impact on the environment. We\u2019ve seen it. That has driven consumers to be more demanding. Consumers and brand owners are looking for the ways like never before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming, we\u2019ve been hard at work. A couple of good things that happened along the way, Genomatica licensed before to Novamont and they have done a great job scaling. We are going to a larger scale. We knew we could scale this in term of the feedstock and supply chain, we wanted to find the right partners.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now feels like the right time, we have a new Administration and we see what the President is putting in front of Congress. This is a way forward for the U.S. to take advantage of strength in feedstocks and manufacturing. There are a lot of connections to infrastructure in this. And, absolutely, people are looking for sustainable options. This is all about building back better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eddyville, Iowa is the location, and was singled out as being not only simply a place to execute a process but for being home to a team whose experience proved a critical factor in the launch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Jill Zullo explained, \u201cit\u2019s not only one of our largest fermentation facilities, it was our first, and they\u2019ve developed amazing practices from getting feedstock and right through the process. We have another campus in Blair excellent as well, but factors like all the renewable power in Iowa and the team\u2019s tremendous experience made Eddyville the right place to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Worth noting all that wind energy. Iowa\u2019s the #2 wind state in the U.S., as you may not know. We\u2019re starting to see the cross-over between a portfolio of sustainable investments \u2014 the cumulative effect in driving down the carbon footprint. A process that was, in carbon terms, Bigfoot has come down to a small ballet slipper \u2014 and is headed down and down and down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, it\u2019s a \u2018second commercial\u2019 for this process. As hard as it is to get a first commercial built, think how many first commercials never lead to a second for a long, long time \u2014 sometimes, ever. That\u2019s real validation that the process works on all fronts \u2014 as a process, the economics, the customer acceptance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, global capacity for bio-based BDO is now in the 100,000 tons per year range. That\u2019s a lot of yoga pants. We\u2019re starting to see \u2018change the world\u2019 volumes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thirdly, here\u2019s a shift on the applications. Novamont wanted bio-based BDO, more or less, for their compostable bioplastics. Qore is aiming much more broadly \u2014 here come the spandex and everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 93 percent lower emissions than conventional materials \u2014 could it go lower?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed, there could be more,\u2019 Zullo told The Digest. \u201cWe have ideas for even more improvements, we want to be pragmatic, 93 percent reduction, we think there\u2019s more room. All of those, sustainability numbers, cost and consumer demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith consumers demanding more sustainable products, brands are not only looking for more innovative, environmentally-friendly solutions but also are needing supplier capabilities and resources that can consistently meet those expectations,\u201d said Jill Zullo, Vice President, Biointermediates\/Bioindustrial at Cargill. \u201cThis new venture combines Cargill\u2019s end-to-end supply chain and long-standing, successful product commercialization in several bioindustrial markets with HELM\u2019s expertise in effectively bringing unique chemical applications and other creative solutions to life and to the market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor HELM Chemicals, this joint venture marks an important milestone in our commitment to providing solutions for a successful transformation to a sustainable planet and society. Through partnership and collaboration with brand owners and their suppliers, we will bring sustainable product options to these consumer-driven industries that will not only help them differentiate their brands but also create a more environmentally responsible future,\u201d said Axel Viering, Member of the Executive Board for Business Line Chemicals at HELM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" News arrived late last week that Cargill and HELM have formed a JV known as Qore to help leading brands replace fossil-based chemistries with bio-based intermediates, and are investing a combined $300 million to build the first commercial-scale, renewable BDO (1,4-butanediol) facility in the U.S. Today, let\u2019s look behind the headlines. Despite all the \u201cCalifornia, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Both companies are investing a combined $300 million to build the first commercial-scale, renewable BDO (1,4-butanediol) facility in the U.S.","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,10408],"supplier":[230,4009],"class_list":["post-92698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-greenchemistry","supplier-cargill-inc","supplier-helm-ag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92698","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\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92698\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92698"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=92698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Building Back Better<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Kudos to Eddyville<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Some food for thought<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reaction from the stakeholders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n