Amyris (Emeryville, Calif.; www.amyris.com), Braskem (Sao Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com) and Michelin (Clermont-Ferrand, France; www.michelin.com) announced today that Braskem is joining the ongoing collaboration between Michelin and Amyris. This collaboration was initiated to develop and commercialize renewable isoprene, sourced from various biomass as an additional sustainable pathway to produce isoprene.
Under the terms of the agreement, Braskem, Michelin and Amyris will work together to develop a technology to utilize plant sugars, such as those found in Brazilian sugarcane or cellulosic feedstocks, to produce renewable isoprene. Adding the expertise of Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and global leader in the production of biopolymers, Amyris and Michelin will accelerate the industrialization of renewable isoprene.
Amyris will share its rights to commercialize the renewable isoprene technology developed under this collaboration with Braskem. Michelin will maintain certain preferential, but not exclusive, access to the renewable isoprene to be produced by this technology. The companies will not disclose details of the agreement, including the financial contributions of each party.
This joint project, with Amyris and Braskem, will give Michelin an additional sustainable sourcing channel for poly-isoprene for the production of quality tires, providing a high-performance, environmentally responsible material.
Amyris is an integrated renewable products company focused on providing sustainable alternatives to a broad range of petroleum-sourced products. Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world’s leading biopolymers producer, manufacturing green polyethylene from sugarcane-based ethanol.
Tire manufacturer Michelin is dedicated to sustainably improving the mobility of goods and people by manufacturing and marketing tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles/motorcycles, earthmovers, farm equipment and trucks.