Amyris, Inc., a synthetic biotechnology company, says it has started the commissioning of its new fermentation plant in Barra Bonita, Brazil. The greenfield site is strategically located next to the Raizen sugar mill, which is the world's second largest of its kind, according to Amyris, ensuring continuity of supply and favorable feedstock economics. Sugar cane is a key feedstock for producing our sustainable ingredients. Brazil reportedly ranks first in global sugar production, and operating costs in Brazil are advantaged compared to the U.S. and Europe, says Amyris.
The fermentation plant has a proprietary design with a process tower that reportedly is twice as tall as the company's prior Brotas plant to take full advantage of gravity in its vertical fermentation process. The site consists of five fermentation "mini-factories" capable of concurrently producing the company’s more than 13 currently scaled and future bio-fermented products. The site reportedly has ample space and infrastructure for future expansion.
There is strong consumer demand for bio-based products, according to Amyris. However, the majority of investment in biotechnology in the past few years reportedly has been applied toward gene discovery, genetic pathway modeling and microbe engineering. Little investment has been seen downstream in fermentation process development, scale up and fermentation at scale, says the company. The lack of scaled precision fermentation expertise and capacity, and the ability to manufacture cost-effectively at scale is an impediment to biotechnology making a commercial impact. Amyris says it believes the sector's capital light approach toward fermentation capacity does not bode well for future success.
"At Amyris we are taking control of our destiny with the Barra Bonita plant," say John Melo, president and chief executive officer. "Industry experts are seeing a significant future gap between supply and demand of fermentation-based products. We have started to activate the process control modules and are in the process of testing the instruments and automation protocols to ensure that all systems and components are operating efficiently and safely. We are looking forward to accelerating the commissioning process, including the completion of the sterility hold, with a view to operationalize the plant during the second quarter."
For more information, visit: www.amyris.com
