The new material developed by Covestro and Genomatica will allow to produce more sustainable coatings and adhesives.
Covestro and the biotechnology company Genomatica have jointly announced that they had been able to reach an important industry milestone, as their partership successfully produced a large volume of a plant-based version of the chemical raw material HMDA
(hexamethylene diamine).
The HMDA is an important ingredient – manufactured from fossil feedstocks – for a widely-used type of nylon (nylon-6,6), as well as a key component for raw materials for coatings and adhesives, with a worldwide market of 2 million tons per year. The new bio-based HMDA – made from renewable feedstocks – could help to improve the sustainability of coatings, apparel, adhesives and plastics used in several industrial sectors, including automotive, construction, furniture, textiles and fibres.
The research team from Genomatica and Covestro expects to be able to produce ton quantities of high-quality material over the course of multiple production campaigns, since both companies are already processing and testing material from their initial production campaigns and are planning to advance the programme to full commercial scale. Covestro has secured an option from Genomatica to license the resulting integrated GENO™ HMD process technology for commercial production.
“The increased use of alternative raw materials, including the utilization of biotechnology, is an important pillar of our approach to fully embrace the circular economy and help make it a global guiding principle. Our program with Genomatica, which complements our internal R&D, is one of our largest external funding of biotechnology R&D to date, and underscores both the field’s importance to Covestro and the results it can deliver,” stated Dr. Markus Steilemann, the CEO of Covestro.
“This program is of great importance to us, because markets are increasingly asking for more environmentally compliant products based on renewable raw materials, which are just as powerful as their fossil-based alternatives. We can reduce this dependence on fossil feedstocks with innovative technology and our partnership. With a purely plant-based HMDA, we can significantly advance our corporate objective of CO2-neutral production,” continued Dr. Thorsten Dreier, the global head of the business unit Coatings & Adhesives at Covestro.
“Genomatica is committed to delivering a portfolio of sustainable materials that can help any brand reduce the carbon footprint of its products while maintaining the performance customers count on. Covestro is a valued partner that is playing a leading role in improving the environmental impact of many of today’s most prevalent materials. Together, we are taking an important step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for a broad range of products we use in daily life,” concluded the CEO of Genomatica, Christophe Schilling.