Paul Morden, www.theobserver.ca The Observer
As construction continues on BioAmber’s Sarnia plant, the company is already making plans to build two more, including a bio-succinic acid production facility four times the size of Sarnia’s.
Montreal-based BioAmber said this week it has signed a 210,000-ton (190,500-tonne) per year, 15-year contract for bio-succinic acid with Vinmar International, a Houston-based chemical company.
BioAmber and Vinmar earlier announced plans to partner in the building of a 100,000-ton (90,700-tonne) per year $330-million butanediol plant. Its construction is expected to begin in 2017, at a North American site still to be announced.
As part of a new agreement announced Monday, plans for that proposed butanediol plant have been expanded to include capacity to also produce 70,000 tons (63,500 tonnes) of bio-succinic acid.
Vinmar also plans to invest in a third bio-succinic acid plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 tons (181,400 tonnes) BioAmber expects to build and begin operating in late 2020.
“Sarnia is going to be considered for the next plant,” said Mike Hartmann, BioAmber’s executive vice-president.
The company is currently involved in site selection for the facility planned to produce both butanediol and bio-succinic somewhere in North America, he said.
“We know Sarnia very well, we like Sarnia, we think there’s a lot of benefit for being there, and so it is definitely one of the sites we are looking at.”
It’s an opportunity Sarnia will pursue, said George Mallay, general manager of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership.
The partnership responsible for promoting economic development in Sarnia-Lambton has been promoting the region as a prime location for hybrid chemistry and energy companies.
“We’re at a time we can expect to see more growth in the industry,” Mallay said.
“If you look around the world, right now, you’re starting to see more bio-based plants built. They’re moving from the demo phases to full commercial production.”
The $135-million plant BioAmber is constructing next to Lanxess in Sarnia is expected to be completed in early 2015. It will initially produce 30,000 tonnes annually of bio-succinic acid made from corn sugar, and used as a building-block chemical in plastics, cosmetics and other products.
The company’s bio-based butanediol is used in a wide range of products, including polyurethanes, biodegradable plastics and spandex.
The company has said it plans to increase bio-succinic acid production in Sarnia to 50,000 tonnes soon after the plant is up and operating.
Hartmann said BioAmber officials are excited about the progress of construction in Sarnia.
“As you drive by, you can see it coming up from the ground, and we’re quite pleased with the progress.”
In a press release, BioAmber CEO Jean-Francois Huc described the multi-plant deal with Vinmar as “a quantum leap forward” for the company’s bio-succinic acid business, “and sets a clear path for rapid growth.”
The agreement will help the company obtain project financing for its plans, he said.
Hartmann said Wall Street analysts have valued the multi-year agreement with Vinmar at $10 billion.
“This is the biggest announcement the industry has really seen in green chemicals,” he said.
“These are significant numbers and Sarnia is going to play a very important role, at the very least with our first plant.” Hartmann added, “Everything relies on that first plant being built on time, and on schedule, and that it works very well.”
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