MRC) -- Genomatica and Asahi Kasei announced a strategic partnership to commercialize renewably-sourced nylon 6,6 made from Genomatica’s bio-based hexamethylenediamine (HMD) building block, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Asahi Kasei looks to this partnership to support its goal to be first-to-market with a more sustainable nylon 6,6 for the automotive and electronics industries, based on plant-based HMD, and to accelerate the achievement of its corporate sustainability objectives.
HMD is a key component of nylon 6,6 (also known as polyamide 6,6) and multiple other types of nylon, with a global market of 2 MMtpy. Conventional HMD is made starting from fossil fuels, such as crude oil or natural gas. Renewably-sourced HMD made with Genomatica’s technology is derived from renewable feedstocks, such as plant-based sugars, and can improve the sustainability of the many materials made from it.
Building upon Genomatica’s recently-announced breakthrough to successfully produce significant volumes of plant-based HMD, Asahi Kasei intends to apply the GENO HMD process technology to make more sustainable materials for use in products such as high-temperature automotive parts, electronics or yarns to produce airbags. Asahi Kasei will have preferential access to early volumes of renewably-sourced HMD and perform nylon application testing, leveraging Asahi Kasei’s experience developing successful nylon applications. Asahi Kasei anticipates licensing Genomatica’s GENO HMD process technology to commercialize bio-based nylon 6,6.
Genomatica develops complete, integrated process and manufacturing plant designs that use biotechnology, fermentation and renewable feedstocks to make widely-used ingredients and materials with lower carbon footprints. Asahi Kasei expects Genomatica’s innovation to help the company reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
As MRC informed before, in July 2019, Asahi Kasei decided to expand its plant for the artificial suede LamousTM in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, by four million m2/year, increasing the total production capacity to 14 million m2/year upon completion in 2021.
Asahi Kasei Corporation is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of ammonia, nitric acid, and other chemicals. Now headquartered in Tokyo, with offices and plants across Japan, as well as China, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Germany.
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