MILAN, Italy (July 25, 2012)—Elastomer chemical company Versalis, owned by Eni S.p.A., has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Genomatica and Novamont to establish a strategic partnership to produce butadiene from renewable feedstocks.
The companies plan to form a joint venture, which will develop a comprehensive process for production of polymer-grade butadiene from biomass.
Versalis, which has a majority stake in the partnership, aims to be the first to build commercial plants using the process technology.
This agreement will bring together Genomatica's proprietary technologies and intellectual property for producing butadiene, Versalis' extensive expertise in catalysis process development and process engineering scale-up and market applications of butadiene derivatives, as well as Novamont's experience in renewable feedstocks, according to Versalis.