Bioindustrial Innovation Canada has announced that it has made an investment in US-headed Origin Materials through BIC’s Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) investment fund, as part of an investment round that will see Origin construct its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ontario.
Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) has announced that it has made a Centre for Commercialization of Sustainable Chemistry Innovation (COMM SCI) investment in Origin Materials, Sacramento, California, through BIC’s Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) investment fund, as part of an investment round that will see Origin construct its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ontario by late 2018.
Origin Materials (formerly Micromidas) has developed unique and proprietary technology which allows it to transform multiple bio-based lignocellulosic feedstocks into a broad range of chemical intermediates with large existing market demand. Origin’s intermediates can be used to make new polymers, surfactants, and carbon blacks, each with differentiated performance.
The company has successfully demonstrated the technology in its Sacramento pilot plant in the US but chose Sarnia, Ontario for its first commercial-scale demonstration due to the unique nature of the biocluster which has been growing in the Sarnia region in recent years.
The critical mass of infrastructure, expertise, and experience in Sarnia makes it a clear global frontrunner for commercialising industrial biochemical processes. We’ve found BIC to be a knowledgeable and capable partner and we look forward to furthering collaborations in the region, said John Bissell, CEO and Co-founder of Origin Materials in a statement.
This cluster allows Origin to not only source local feedstocks but have a ready market in the biochemical value chain. Origin is supported by partnerships with several global consumer products companies that will benefit from bio-based packaging created from the company’s bio-intermediates.
The decision by US-based Origin to located their first commercial demonstration facility in Sarnia demonstrates the value of the Sarnia biocluster and validates the efforts of BIC and its local partners in creating the vision and executing the development of the cluster said Sandy Marshall, Executive Director of BIC.
