BERKELEY, Calif. and DENVER, Nov. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lygos, a leading innovator in the development of sustainable high-value specialty chemicals, today announced a breakthrough in scaling Lygos’ proprietary process for making Bio-malonic acid products from sugar and yeast at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF), using a state-of-the-art biochemical pilot plant established by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and operated by NREL to facilitate the rapid transfer of innovative biotechnology processes from the laboratory to marketplace.
The technical milestone - successful scaling of the process in a facility intended to mimic much larger-scale commercial operations - was achieved at the NREL IBRF, established and run with DOE support.
“Having the opportunity to work at NREL's state-of-the-art facility and with its technically unmatched operations teams made the difference for Lygos”, said Eric Steen, Lygos CEO. “This collaboration enabled the demonstration of our end-to-end bio-process for making Bio-malonic acid products under test conditions highly reflective of much larger scale commercial operations. With this milestone behind us, Lygos can now make Bio-malonic™ acid products at commercial scale.”
"At NREL, our goal is to enable rapid commercialization of important new technologies in the United States, and we are delighted to have participated in this important effort and pleased that our facility and team can make important contributions to bringing the promise of biotechnology to consumers here in America," said Dr. Martin Keller, NREL's Laboratory Director. “We hope this milestone encourages other companies with new ideas for making our lives better using biotechnology to partner with the NREL to accelerate commercialization of their products.”
The joint work by Lygos and NREL was conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), and funded in part by a $300,000 Small Business Voucher awarded to Lygos, Inc., from the U.S. Department of Energy helping to accelerate scale-up and commercialization of its bio-malonic acid technology.
The process operated successfully in the largest fermentation vessels available at the IBRF. Lygos used downstream purification processes to make the desired high purity malonic acid end product, as well as derivative malonate ester products, including bio-dimethyl(™) and bio-diethyl(™) malonates.
Malonic acid is a high-value, highly versatile, "Tri-Functional" specialty chemical used for the production of a variety of performance materials, coatings, adhesives, sealants, flavors, fragrances, pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing. Existing petrochemical processes for producing malonic acid require costly, toxic, and environmentally hazardous intermediates and chemistry. All malonic acid in the world today is produced in China, largely as a result of these factors. Lygos’ innovative and proprietary technology uses sugar, yeast, and water instead of toxic chemicals; has a smaller CO2 footprint; and can scale to commercial output that enables the Bio-malonic acid products to be produced cost-competitively with any petrochemical based process.
About NREL
NREL's Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility (IBRF) enables researchers and industry partners to develop, test, evaluate, and demonstrate processes and technologies for the production of bio-based products and fuels.
About Lygos, Inc.
Lygos makes microbial-based manufacturing solutions at the juncture of biology and technology that create market-transforming product opportunities. Lygos' first products -- malonic acid and derivatives -- replace low-quality petrochemical products produced at high economic and environmental cost in countries without strong environmental protection programs. Lygos is venture-backed by 50 Years, First Round Capital, IA Ventures, OS Fund, Vast Ventures and the Y Combinator Continuity Fund, along with notable angel investors. Lygos' R&D was originally funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.lygos.com or follow us on Twitter: @LygosBiotech.
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