Lambton County Invests $500,000 In Bioindustrial Development.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

Lambton County council voted this week to move ahead on a $500,000-investment with a Sarnia-based agency helping young companies start production of bio-based products.

It was part of a loan and investment arrangement the county agreed to last summer with Bioindustrial Innovation Canada so the agency could fully tap into matching federal funds.

Bioindustrial Innovation Canada is a government-funded agency that works to help new sustainable technologies reach the market.

The original deal called for the agency to receive a $2.5-million loan plus a $2 million investment by the county.

John Innes, general manager of the county division responsible for finances, said the agency said recently it was now only seeking a $500,000 investment, along with $2.5-million in loans.

On Wednesday, county council approved investments of $125,000 in Comet Biorefining, $250,000 in Origin Materials and $125,000 in Benefuel.

All three companies have plans to set up production sites in Sarnia.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Origin Materials website.

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BioAmber Reports Record Fourth Quarter.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.

BioAmber, a Montreal-based company with a manufacturing site in Sarnia, reported a record quarter at the end of 2017 with revenue of $5.4 million.

Revenue in 2017 totalled $14.9 million compared to $8.3 million in 2016, an 81-per-cent increase, driven by increased sales of bio-succinic acid from the Sarnia plant opened in 2015, the company said this week.

BioAmber uses corn syrup to make succinic acid, a building block chemical used in products ranging from paints and plastics to cosmetics and food additives at its first large-scale commercial production site next to Vidal Street in Sarnia.

“We are pleased with the solid growth, which is reflective of our growing customer base and the potential of bio-succinic acid as an important chemical building block,” CEO Rick Eno said Wednesday during a quarterly earnings conference call.

“The entire company is working to move our operations to be gross margin positive at the plant level, followed by profitability at the corporate level,” Eno said.

“We believe this performance will unlock growth opportunities for us, including a second plant that will convert bio-succinic acid into butanediol and THF (tetrahydrofuran), which reflect an $8-billion market.”

The company said in late 2017 it was focusing on Sarnia as the potential site for a second plan.

Link to the rest here.

Image. Zach Neal.

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BioAmber Teams Up With Genome Canada on Alternative Nylon.

From Josh Boyce, Blackburn News.

Sarnia-based BioAmber has partnered with Genome, and the University of Toronto to develop a more environmentally-friendly nylon.

Genome Canada, along with the Ontario Government, and other partners, are investing $5.7-million into the applied research project.

Nylon is currently made from petroleum, and there’s strong demand for an alternative using sugar-based chemicals like the ones BioAmber produce.

University of Toronto Researcher Dr. Krishna Mahadevan says BioAmber is a perfect fit.

“What we’re trying to focus on with this grant is adipic acid,” says Dr. Mahadevan. “Of course, since BioAmber has the know-how to try to make this and scale it up to 30,000 tonnes and do these operations, they’re a perfect partner with us in Toronto.”

Link to the rest here.

Additional Coverage.

Image. By Erik Liljeroth, Nordiska museet, CC BY 4.0,

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