India-headed Praj Industries Ltd. and US-headed Lygos, Inc. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to co-develop Lygos’s proprietary yeast for the production of lactic acid. As part of this MoU, Lygos will provide its proprietary yeast platform to Praj for jointly developing into various solutions for commercial applications.
Praj has already developed and currently offers bacterial fermentation technology to produce lactic acid and downstream products derived from sugar-based feedstocks. Lactic acid is also used in food and beverages, in cleaning agents as well as in the electronic industry.
According to Praj, the global lactic acid market is estimated to be worth around US$1 billion annually. Headquartered in Berkeley, California (CA), Lygos will provide its innovative and high-performance technology, “LP1 Ultra Yeast” platform and its “Carbon Sequestration Superhighway”, which is well suited to produce acid compounds.
We are pleased to partner with Praj and the Praj Matrix team whose deep expertise spans commercialization, engineering, and scale-up, construction, and operation of similar industrial processes. This is an exciting time where the world’s demand for sustainable, safe products not produced from toxic petroleum continues to grow. We believe our LP1 Ultra platform will complement the Praj team’s goal in the lactic acid marketplace. We look forward to accelerating the technology commercialization through this partnership, said Eric Steen, CEO of Lygos.
Produce bioplastic PLA
Praj will assemble other segments of technology backed up by its expertise in process development, optimization, design scale-up, and will further integrate lactic acid as a source material into making bioplastic known as Polylactic Acid (PLA).
The demand for PLA acid is around 200 000 tonnes per annum and is expected to increase substantially in the near future and is seen by Praj as an “appropriate solution” to replace single-use plastics (SUP) and reduce the burden on the waste disposal system. Due to its unique characteristics, PLA offers an improved replacement for many applications.
Rising consumer awareness with respect to the need for recyclability, green packaging, and sustainability is driving significant demand globally. Unlike conventional plastic, PLA does not take decades to degrade, and as such, reduces adverse environmental impact.
True to its vision to make the world a better place, Praj continues to deploy advanced technologies to produce sustainable products. Our focus over the past three decades on the environment, energy, and agri-process industry complements global efforts to mitigate climate change and is in tune with global circular bioeconomy. We are happy to work with Lygos to co-develop its advanced yeast platform to produce highly valuable organic acid to offer our customers a better opportunity while supporting the rural economy. I am confident that this association will open opportunities for both of us in the global renewable chemicals & materials industry, said Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman of Praj.
Both companies will jointly pursue identified commercial opportunities globally to establish a leading position in compostable polymers.
