Award Description

BioAmber  - 2012 Early Stage Company of the Year - Industrial and Agriculture

BioAmber is a next-generation, renewable-chemical company selling bio-succinic acid to customers in a variety of chemical markets. BioAmber is commercializing other intermediate green chemicals such as bio-succinic acid derived products including 1,4 butanediol (BDO) and tetrahydrofuran, THF. These are cost-competitive, performance enhancing, chemically identical replacements for petroleum-derived chemicals with large global markets.

Succinic acid can be used to manufacture a wide variety of products used every day, including plastics, food additives and personal care products. Bio-based BDO is used to produce polyesters, plastics, spandex and other products.

BioAmber has entered into partnerships with major players in the industry including Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Lanxess, NatureWorks, Cargill, DuPont, and others. The collaborations are directed at lowering production costs, enhancing technologies, and expanding markets.

BioAmber and LANXESS are partnering to produce phthalate-free plasticizers. BioAmber is developing non-corrosive de-icing solutions with LNT and Future Transfer in Canada.

BioAmber has the world’s first and only large-scale bio-succinic acid demonstration plant located in France. The successful operation and scale up of this facility has attracted interest and support for the Company within Canada and from the chemical industry globally. The plant uses industrial biotechnology and renewable feedstocks to replace petroleum in an environmentally safe manufacturing process.

BioAmber has begun construction of a full scale, commercial facility (17,000 metric tons of succinic acid) in Sarnia, Ontario. The plant is expected to be expanded to produce 34,000 metric tons of succinic and 23,000 metric tons of bio based BDO.

The facility will employ the significant infrastructure of Sarnia’s petrochemical valley, including a highly skilled work force and contribute to its evolution as a hybrid chemical cluster.
 

Felipe Pastrana, General Manager of Abbott Canada presents Jennifer Thompson and Tim Durance of Enwave Corporation with the award for EARLY STAGE COMPANY OF THE YEAR - INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURE in 2011.