CLARIANT LICENSES SUNLIQUID® TECHNOLOGY
Clariant signed a licensing agreement with Chinese green energy company Anhui Guozhen Group and multinational engineering firm Chemtex Chemical Engineering on sunliquid® cellulosic ethanol technology.
Anhui Guozhen Group and Chemtex agreed to establish a joint venture to implement a full-scale commercial facility for cellulosic ethanol production from agricultural waste. Under this framework, Clariant licensed its sunliquid® cellulosic ethanol technology to the joint venture.
Project development and facility operations will be carried out by the joint venture utilizing existing land owned by Anhui Guozhen Group in the city of Fuyang and the surrounding existing infrastructure network.
The facility is planned to have an annual production capacity of 50,000 tonnes of cellulosic ethanol and holds the option to double capacity in the second phase (50,000 tonnes per phase). This means it will be one of the largest facilities of its kind in China to date.
Detailed project assessments and preparations for the engineering phase are ongoing. Project execution awaits final agreement of specific government contracts for the project.
Chief Operating Officer of Clariant:
Hans Bohnen stated: "China represents a core growth market where we want to further strengthen our position at Clariant. The country aims to achieve 10% bioethanol content in national transportation fuels over the next few years.
These regulatory commitments increase demand for advanced biofuels, offering significant growth potential for our sunliquid® technology. Therefore, the signing of a sunliquid® technology license with two renowned Chinese players is an important strategic milestone for capturing promising business opportunities."
For the Anhui region, this represents a substantial investment in green, sustainable technologies. The area is characterized by agriculture, ensuring abundance of raw materials for the cellulosic ethanol facility.
With locally sourced raw materials, in this case wheat straw and corn stover, greenhouse gas savings can be maximized. Additional business opportunities will also be created along the entire value and supply chain.
The produced cellulosic ethanol will be blended with gasoline and used in China's regional fuel market to meet the country's national blending mandate. Cellulosic ethanol produced with sunliquid® can achieve approximately 95% savings in greenhouse gases compared to gasoline.
