DGAP-News: When straw becomes plastic: Bioeconomy company BluCon Biotech starts industrial implementation with one million in funding

When straw becomes plastic: Bioeconomy company BluCon Biotech starts industrial implementation with one million in funding

• BluCon Biotech GmbH receives a grant notification from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) for € 931.111
• With this grant BluCon can transfer its unique process for fermentative production of L-lactic acid from the laboratory scale to industrial implementation - a necessary first step for manufacturing bio-plastic polylactic acid (PLA)
• Environmentally friendly bioeconomy: The BluCon process uses agricultural residue such as straw instead of food supplies such as sugar beet, sugar cane or corn

COLOGNE, November 30, 2021 - BluCon Biotech GmbH: The Cologne-based bioeconomy company BluCon Biotech recently received a commitment of € 931.111 in funding from the German Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) for the scaling of its proprietary fermentation technology made from agricultural residue, such as straw, to produce part of the bio-plastic polylactic acid (PLA). The globally unique and highly innovative technology developed by BluCon Biotech provides a decisive advantage over currently available fermentation processes for L-lactic acid which use sugar beet, sugar cane or corn, by not requiring any essential foods as raw materials.

L-lactic acid serves as the basic building block for polylactic acid (PLA), a biobased and biodegradable plastic that is a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastic. The BMWi funding enables BluCon Biotech to scale testing for the fermentative conversion of cellulosic raw materials, which have already been validated on a laboratory scale, to a pilot scale from a bioreactor size of up to ten cubic meters. This upscaling allows industrialization of the innovative and sustainable process to begin.

The core business of BluCon Biotech GmbH is a primary focus of the Federal Ministry of Economics funding program, which advances the industrial bioeconomy. The program promotes the implementation of innovative processes on an industrial scale and the transfer of bioeconomic products and processes into industrial practice. State Secretary Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, who - under strict Corona hygiene rules - handed over the funding decision to BluCon as one of the first Companies within the programexplained: "This federal funding program is intended to increase resource efficiency in terms of a sustainable circular economy and contribute to compliance with climate protection and sustainability goals. The production of bio-based and biodegradable PLA is also an important step forward in view of the global pollution of the oceans by non-degradable microplastics. The fact that residues from agriculture and forestry are to be used as starting materials is an important contribution to a sustainable circular economy. In addition to the products, BluCon will also bring the underlying technology to the market. The project is therefore a good example of how industry in Germany is not only becoming a leading market, but also an international leading supplier of climate-friendly products and processes."

Dr. Albrecht Läufer, Managing Director of BlueCon Biotech GmbH said: "The innovative technology of BluCon Biotech is the world's first process that uses local fermentation to produce the raw material for bio-plastic PLA not from food, but from the residue from agriculture and food production making it a significant contribution to the sustainable circular economy."

Markus Fehr, Managing Director of BluCon Biotech GmbH added: "With this process, BluCon makes a positive contribution to the environment because this residue is recycled and not burned, as is still the case today in many regions of the world with high levels of particulate matter. The Blucon technology is suitable for largely replacing petroleum-based plastic and thus preventing hundreds of millions of tons of Co2 emissions in the future and binding them in the recycling loop. We are thus actively contributing to a sustainable, environmentally and socially friendly circular bioeconomy and at the same time helping to secure Germany as a technology location."

About Blucon Biotech GmbH

BluCon Biotech GmbH provides a unique technology by which L-lactic acid can be produced at lowest possible production costs. This will enable the bioplastic PLA (poly lactic acid) to become commercially competitive to fossil fuel based plastics. Avoiding the use of sugars and therefore circumventing the competition with food supplies BluCon's unique technology uses residues of the agricultural industrie. This innovative fermentation process directly converts these raw materials into L-lactic acid. Besides developing BluCon technology to commercial stage, BluCon Biotech GmbH serves as a platform to acquire and develop further technologies in the field of applied biotechnology.

For more information, please visit https://blucon-biotech.com/

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