Genomatica, a technology leader for the chemical industry, has announced that major nylon intermediates – including hexamethylenediamine, caprolactam and adipic acid (HMD, CPL and ADA) – are the focus of its third publicly-disclosed development programme.

The company is developing complete process technologies for the biobased production of these intermediates, which it will then license to major firms in the nylon value chain. These three chemicals, with a total market of over $18 billion per year, are used primarily in the production of nylon 6 and nylon 6,6, also referred to as the polyamides PA 6 and PA 6,6.

“Genomatica’s team, broad IP portfolio and integrated biotechnology platform enable us to develop processes for multiple high-volume chemicals,” said Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., CEO of Genomatica. “Nylon intermediates are of high interest to us, and a natural target for our R&D and process engineering strengths. We’re excited to formally unveil our nylon programme.”

Comprehensive set

Genomatica has been building a comprehensive set of nylon programme assets over the last few years. The nylon programme builds on a large body of intellectual property (IP), which includes eight issued US patents, as well as trade secrets that include engineered strains, with some of the IP developed internally and some from a recent IP acquisition.

A number of the concepts described by Genomatica’s patent filings have been validated in experimental proofs of concept, demonstrating feasibility.

These include the successful demonstration of certain metabolic pathways; production of certain nylon intermediates in various microorganisms; and efficient methods to produce and recover certain nylon intermediates from the fermentation.

Strong progress

Genomatica’s nylon intermediates programme follows commercialisation and licensing of its GENO BDO process, and strong progress with its butadiene programme, which has gained over $100 million in industry support, with Versalis andBraskem as anchor partners.

Genomatica’s nylon intermediates programme aims to deliver biobased processes for the production of hexamethylenediamine, caprolactam and adipic acid (HMD, CPL and ADA).

Important advantages

Genomatica is focused on developing biobased processes that deliver the exact same chemicals as those made with petroleum-based feedstocks, along with better overall economics and greater sustainability.

For nylon intermediates, Genomatica’s processes are intended to provide on-purpose alternatives to current processes while avoiding the price volatility or limited supply sources of current raw materials such as benzene or adiponitrile. Genomatica’s technology also has the potential to avoid unwanted byproducts and waste streams characteristic of many current processes, the company reports.

Development of commercial processes for nylon intermediates is expected to take several years, and follow a sequence of technical, partnership, scale-up and commercialisation milestones.

www.genomatica.com