🏭 The Column: April 11, 2025

Good morning. Today we’re talking about a startup that I’m pretty skeptical of—I don’t typically share these opinions, but I’ve seen one too many press releases to let it slide. Curious to know your thoughts, so shoot me a reply if you want to talk about it!

Things Happened:

Bio-based isoprene and SAF

A couple of years ago I wrote about how Visolis—who acquired BioAmber’s assets with Taiwan’s LCY Group for $4.8 million after they went bankrupt in 2018—was now trying to making bio-based isoprene and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with help from Ginko Bioworks. This sort of threw me off, because I figured that Visolis was interested in commercializing BioAmber’s process technology, but maybe Visolis was just interested in those cheap fermentation assets and the option to utilize them differently in the future. And perhaps that time has come! Visolis and Zeon just completed a joint feasibility study for the production of bio-based isoprene and SAF, and are now evaluating potential site locations. For what it’s worth, I’m extremely skeptical of this announcement; it genuinely makes no sense to try to produce SAF at scale via fermentation (as in, it will never be cost competitive with other SAF production processes), and throwing it in there alongside isoprene makes me think there’s really just some by-product hydrocarbon stream they hope they can upgrade to SAF. There’s nothing inherently wrong about that, and it’s not even misleading—I just don’t think we should be allocating capital to SAF-processes that will never scale as well as hydrotreating vegetable oil. As for the isoprene part of this equation, sure, I can get behind that. Tire makers would love to partner with a startup looking to decarbonize one of their primary feedstocks, and there isn’t a clearly better option out there for bio-based isoprene. [LINK]

Other Things Happened:

Clariant and Technip Energies just revealed a new styrene monomer catalyst breakthrough. Solvay started up a new rare earths production line in France for permanent magnets. Sika started up a new mortar production facility in Quito, Ecuador. The EU is banning the use of PFAS and other endocrine disruptors in toys. Brenntag divested its liquid chlorine distribution business in Spain. Panasonic and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical are making urea resins with methanol produced from CO2. Mitsubishi Chemical also increased their production of flame retardants. Some private equity firms acquired OQ Chemicals (and will be changing its name back to Oxea).