17-ERACoBioTech-Bester

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Industrial Biotechnology is a key enabling technology to produce a plethora of different bio-based products from sustainable resources and a driver for developing the bio-based economy in Europe. The specialty chemical industry is a $450 billion market and is a part of the $5.4 trillion global chemical market. Within this market, butyl esters, derivable from n-butanol (BuOH) and suitable organic acids by esterification, have diverse uses as commodity chemicals and drop-in biofuels, but also represent high value opportunities within the fragrance and flavour industry, cosmetics and coatings. The production of BuOH in the anaerobic clostridial ABE fermentation process is well established and has in 2016 reached commercial scale in the US by UK-based company and BESTER project partner Green Biologics Ltd. (GBL). Efficient processes to produce suitable organic acids from renewable resources as counterparts for BuOH in catalytic esterification are needed. The use of esterase enzymes as natural, sustainably produced biocatalysts for ester formation will allow entirely green bioprocesses for the production of different butyl esters, thus increasing market value of the ABE process and reducing GHG emissions.The BESTER project connects six project partners with highly complementary expertise from four different ERA-CoBioTech partner countries (Norway, UK, Germany and France) in order to maximise project output and share risks, costs and skills. The project is industry-driven with large enterprise GBL (UK) and SME Processium SA (FR) participating as active partners. Borregaard AS will provide expert advice and fermentation feedstock from the company's proprietary BALI process. The three companies are positioned along the butyl ester value chain, which will ensure that project results are efficiently taken further towards commercialization. BESTER project will mitigate reliance on fossils for chemical production, enabling sustainable industrial development in Europe.