Demonstration plant for ground-breaking chemicals technology

PHOTANOL, a platform renewable chemicals company, is building a demonstration plant for what it claims is a “ground-breaking” chemicals technology which produces chemical building blocks from sunlight and CO₂. The facility will be located at a site in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, owned by partnering chemicals company Nouryon.

Using genetically modified bacteria, chemicals such as organic acids and terpenes can be produced from sunlight and CO₂. Currently, 17 products can be produced by this technology. The demonstration plant will focus on producing three products, all of which are organic acids for the production of polymers. The technology is currently at the pilot plant stage.

The demonstration plant is part of an €8m project (US$9.1m) prior to scaleup. The modularity will allow the facility to be built up for commercial purposes following a demonstration of technological and economic viability. However, the commercial build may be at a different location.  

Construction is set to begin in 2019, with the expectation of being fully operational by the end of 2020.

Veronique de Bruijn, CEO of Photanol, said the company is “keen to prove to the world that we can make a big difference by producing clean chemicals while reducing the CO₂ burden on the environment.”

Peter van Gelderen, partner and chairman of investment advisory committee of cleantech investor Icos Capital, said: “We are very excited about Photanol’s move forward helping to address climate issues with a strong business case.”