Bioamber inks deal with Japan's Mitsui to distribute its biobased succinic acid in Asia

Liling Tan

PRINCETON, New Jersey , April 15, 2010 (PRNewswire) – Bioamber (a joint venture between DNP Green Technology and ARD) and Mitsui & Co. Ltd have signed an agreement granting Mitsui exclusive Asian distribution rights for Bioamber's biobased succinic acid. Bioamber recently commissioned the world's first biobased succinic acid production facility in Pomacle, France. The annual production capacity is 2,000 MT.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is a leading global trading company with 152 offices in 65 countries. Mitsui has a strong presence in chemical trading, with divisions focused on basic commodity chemicals and performance chemicals. Mitsui has targeted biobased chemicals, with a strategy that leverages its global access to biomass and integrates cutting edge technologies to produce finished products. Mitsui has invested in several biobased projects, including fatty acids, glycerin and alcohols, sebacic acid and other green chemicals. Biobased succinic acid will broaden Mitsui's portfolio and offer customers a renewable C4 building block for use in polymer chemistry, personal care and other applications.

Mitsui believes that the availability of biobased succinic acid and derivative products such as 1,4 butanediol will fuel the development of renewable polymers and accelerate the growth of the overall succinic acid market and Bioamber is well positioned as the market leader and the only source of high quality, biobased succinic acid.

"Our partnership with Mitsui & Co., Ltd provides us with a strong presence in Asia. The Asian market offers the biggest growth opportunity for biobased chemicals, but it is a difficult market for Western companies to penetrate. Mitsui & Co., Ltd is our solution: they have global reach, established relationships with potential customers and a commitment to biobased chemicals. Mitsui will focus on Asian customers who can rapidly ramp up demand for Bioamber's succinic acid, in anticipation of DNP Green Technology building a large-scale plant with one or more partners and Mitsui distributing the output", said Jean-Francois Huc, President of DNP Green Technology.

About Mitsui & Co.

Mitsui & Co. Ltd. is a Japan-based trading company. The Company is engaged in the sale, import, export, offshore trading and manufacture of various products in the fields of iron and steel product, metal resources, machine and project, chemical, energy, food and retail, as well as consumer service and information industry. It provides retail, information communication, technology, transportation and finance services, the development of energy and raw iron resources, in addition to the investment in new businesses such as information technology (IT), biotechnology and environmental technology businesses. For more information visit: www.mitsui.co.jp/en

About Bioamber

Bioamber is the joint venture between DNP Green Technology and Agro-industrie Recherches et Développements (ARD) that is dedicated to succinic acid. Bioamber possesses the only biobased succinic acid technology that has been proven at a commercial scale. Bioamber recently commissioned the world's first and only biobased succinic acid plant in Pomacle, France. For more information, visit www.bio-amber.com

About DNP Green Technology

DNP Green Technology is a private US company that produces renewable chemicals. Through numerous scientific and business partnerships, DNP Green Technology has built an extensive IP portfolio and know-how covering the production, purification and uses of biobased succinic acid and derivatives including modified PBS, a biodegradable polymer. DNP Green is actively developing other bio-based chemical platforms, leveraging industrial biotechnology and chemical synthesis to produce renewable chemicals and bio-based materials. The company has offices in Princeton, N.J., Shanghai, China and Montreal, Canada. For more information, visit www.dnpgreen.com

About ARD

ARD (Agro-Industrie Recherches et Développements) is the R&D centre of a large agro-industrial consortium based in Champagne-Ardenne, France. Member of the global-scale competitiveness cluster IAR (Industries and Agro-Resources), ARD adds value to and finds new outlets for agricultural crops. It develops innovative and competitive bio-based molecules produced in bio-refineries. With its subsidiary SOLIANCE, specialized in the production and commercialization of cosmetics active ingredients, ARD has 25 years of experience in biomass fractionation, bio-based chemistry, and industrial biotechnology. ARD and its affiliates employ over 130 people. For more information, please visit www.a-r-d.fr

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