API Europe Gets Funding for Conversion of Biomass to Sugars and Nanocellulose

 

API Europe announced this week it is one of 14 European companies participating in a demonstration project for the conversion of woody biomass to value-added chemicals and nanocellulose. The project has received funding of EUR 9.9 million from the Bio-Based Industries public private partnership, a program under EU Horizon 2020.

 

API Europe (Athens, Greece), an affiliate of American Process Inc. (Atlanta, Ga., USA) is one of 14 partners under the BIOFOREVER PROJECT, "BIO-based products from FORestry via Economically Viable European Routes," to receive funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 program. A number of pretreatment and subsequent conversion technologies will be demonstrated by various partners, including delivering commercialization routes for the most promising value-added products. Woody biomass, including waste wood, will be converted to lignin, nanocellulose, and lignocellulosic sugars, and further converted to lignin derivatives and chemicals like butanol, ethanol, and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) on an industrial scale.

 

API Europe will demonstrate production of lignocellulosic sugars and high-value nanocellulose co-product using the proprietary AVAP® process. They will also provide the conceptual engineering design services for the project team, which will be employed to accelerate the transfer of successful technology demonstrations to full commercial implementation.

The demonstration project starts in September 2016 and will run for three years. The overall budget is EUR 16.2 million with a EUR 9.9 million contribution from The Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking, a new Public-Private Partnership between the European Union and the Bio-based Industries Consortium, which operates under Horizon 2020.

 

Horizon 2020 is the largest EU Research and Innovation program ever, with nearly EUR 80 billion of funding available over seven years (2014 to 2020).

 

Theodora Retsina, Ph.D., and CEO of API Europe, said that "we are delighted to be part of BIOFOREVER consortium and to collaborate with the other members on this exciting European project. Woody biomass is an important European feedstock to fuel the bioeconomy and we look forward to evaluating the many different types of biomass included in the BIOFOREVER project. Biorefineries, as envisioned in BIOFOREVER, that produce commodity fuels and chemicals as well as high-value co-products like nanocellulose will have the most financial viability and impact."

 

According to Stamatina Sideri, business development manager for API Europe, "the team of API Europe is committed to the future of renewable energies and a sustainable bioeconomy. Our office in Greece has participated in many such projects worldwide and we are delighted to be part of this project that is focused in adding value to European biomass and cooperation between many technology companies.

 

BIOFOREVER consortium partners include: 

• API Europe, Greece
• Avantium Chemicals BV, Netherlands
• Bioprocess Pilot Facility BV, Netherlands
• Borregaard AS, Norway
• Bio Refinery Development BV, Netherlands
• DSM, Netherlands
• Elkem Carbon AS, Norway
• Green Biologics Ltd, U.K.
• MetGen Oy, Finland
• Nova Institute, Germany
• Novasep Process SAS, France
• Phytowelt, Green Technologies GmbH, Germany
• Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands
• SUEZ Groupe, France.

API Europe, an affiliate of U.S.-based American Process Inc., is an engineering, research and development firm in the biotechnology space specializing in the development and scale-up of technologies for the production of biobased fuels, chemicals, and materials.