SAN DIEGO, Sept. 26, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genomatica has been named the 2013 winner of the prestigious Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Award for its successful commercialization of its bio-based process for the production of 1,4-butanediol (BDO), a widely-used chemical. Awarded every other year since 1933 by Chemical Engineering magazine, the Kirkpatrick Award recognizes the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized anywhere in the world during the prior two years, and involves over 100 senior professors that head accredited university chemical engineering departments around the world. Genomatica joins a distinguished set of companies that have helped shape broad portions of the modern chemical industry.
Genomatica delivered a chemical engineering breakthrough in 2012 by producing BDO in a cost-competitive, 'direct' fermentation process at commercial scale from renewable feedstocks, while meeting demanding quality and economic specifications. Multiple large partners have validated the application usability of BDO made with Genomatica's process, including Lanxess, Toray and Far Eastern New Century, while BASF and Novamont have licensed Genomatica's process for renewable BDO. Genomatica has also successfully run its process at five sites worldwide, to date, validating the repeatability, consistency and transferability of its technology.
The Kirkpatrick Award's recognition of process maturity, commercial readiness and industry significance shine a spotlight on Genomatica as a technology-focused enabler for the mainstream chemical industry with new, advantaged process technologies and the core engineering strengths to apply its advanced science to real production plants. This award complements extensive recognition from the scientific community, highlighted by the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award; from industrial biotech by being voted #1 Hottest two years in a row by Biofuels Digest readers; from chemical industry and business experts for innovation, from both ICIS and the Wall Street Journal; and for corporate culture, as a Best Place to Work, twice, by The Scientist.
"Winning the Kirkpatrick Award confirms that our process technology works; our economics work; and our overall process engineering, scale-up and technology transfer work," said Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., CEO of Genomatica. "Our first process, for BDO, is ready for widespread deployment and use and we're championing the product value chains that will benefit from the BDO made by licensees using our process. We're looking forward to applying the same disciplined development and industrial-scale engineering to deliver processes for multiple additional widely-used chemicals."
About Genomatica
Genomatica is a widely-recognized technology leader for the chemical industry. It develops manufacturing process technologies that enable its licensee partners to produce the world's most widely-used chemicals a 'better way,' from renewable feedstocks, with better economics and greater sustainability than petroleum-based processes.
Genomatica's first process, for BDO, is now commercial. Genomatica's BDO process was used to make 5 million pounds of BDO in late 2012; and has been licensed by BASF and by Novamont. Multiple companies, including Lanxess, Toray and Far Eastern New Century, have confirmed that BDO produced using Genomatica's BDO process can be used the exact same way for downstream products as chemicals made from fossil fuel feedstocks, simplifying and accelerating adoption. Genomatica is developing processes for additional major chemicals; the next is for butadiene, with Versalis as partner.
Genomatica's recognition includes the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation award, ICIS Top 40 'Ones to Watch,' the EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, and being voted #1 Hottest two years in a row by Biofuels Digest.