BASF and Acies Bio partner to produce fatty alcohols from methanol

BASF has entered into a partnership with Slovenian biotech company Acies Bio to further develop its methanol fermentation technology platform for the production of fatty alcohols. Fatty alcohols are an important component of several ingredients in the home and personal care market, especially surfactants.

Acies Bio has developed a synthetic biology platform designed to convert renewable methanol produced from captured CO2 emissions into a variety of chemical feedstocks. Under the terms of the collaboration, BASF's Care Chemicals division and Acies Bio will use specialized microorganisms and scale up fermentation processes to produce fatty acids and derivatives for the manufacture of various compounds.

For BASF, the expected benefits of the project include increased scale and flexibility to diversify the renewable feedstock portfolio and enhance the resilience of the global supply chain for care chemicals, the German chemical group said.

“Biotechnology complements our chemistry to create a more sustainable future. We are pleased to have found the right partner in Acies Bio at such an early stage to further develop this innovation. With a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, our joint research covers the entire chain from production strain development to large-scale manufacturing,” said Matthias Maase, Global Sustainability Director Care Chemicals, BASF.

“This collaboration demonstrates the transformative potential of Acies Bio’s microbial innovations in driving net-zero production of specialty and industrial chemicals,” added Gregor Kosec, R&D Director, Acies Bio.