Thomas Videaek, Executive Vice President, Novozyme.
BAGSVAERD, DENMARK: Novozymes has successfully developed a fungus that enables production of malic acid from renewable raw materials instead of oil. Malic acid is used as a flavour enhancer in the food industry and can be converted into other chemical derivatives used for a variety of plastic, polymer and resin products. Novozymes is now out-licensing the technology to partners who are interested in producing and commercializing malic acid and derivatives made from renewable raw materials instead of oil.
“This is our first biochemical building block and a major milestone towards building a biochemical industry together with partners. Oil-based products are all around us, and biochemicals produced from renewable raw materials meet a global need for sustainable alternatives. This need is growing due to concerns about crude oil scarcity and price fluctuations,” said Thomas Videaek, Executive Vice President, Novozyme.
In the food and beverage industries, Malic acid is added to enhance the sour flavour in products such as jellies, jams, juices and soft drinks. Along with succinic acid and fumaric acid it belongs to the group of C4 dicarboxylic acids, which can be converted into 1.4-butanediol (BDO). The annual global market for malic acid is around 60,000 tonne and has a value of $130 million with a growth rate of 4 per cent per year. The market for BDO and derivatives is around 1.4 million tonne at a value of $2.8 billion and with an annual growth rate of 3 per cent.
In the biochemicals value chain, Novozymes is primarily developing the enzymes or micro-organisms that enable production of biochemicals. Analysts estimate that biochemicals could contribute as much as 17 per cent of the global chemical market by 2025.
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