Industrial biotechnology company BioAmber expects construction of its plant in Sarnia, Canada, to be completed in two months and is carrying out commissioning and start-up activities in parallel that will be completed in five months. The cost of the project continues to track within the original budget estimate of US$125 million +/- 10%, says the firm.
“This is a significant milestone for BioAmber, which is poised to begin a period of rapid growth," said Jean-François Huc, CEO. "During the commissioning phase we will test the plant and get it running section by section, produce bio-succinic acid and qualify it with our customers and begin to sell product that meets specifications. We plan to be in full commercial operation in Q3 2015, by which time we can reliably supply customers including our take-or-pay contracts"
The Sarnia plant will be the world's largest succinic acid manufacturing facility, with an annual nameplate capacity of 30,000 tonnes. BioAmber has signed take-or-pay agreements with Vinmar and PTTMCC (a joint venture between Thailand’s PTT PLC and Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical) that represent sales volumes of over 5,000 tonnes in 2015 and 15,000 tonnes in each of 2016 and 2017. BioAmber says it has also signed a number of supply agreements with non-binding volume commitments that collectively exceed the available capacity in the plant.
(PRA)
