Acies Bio has developed a synthetic biology platform designed to convert renewable methanol, derived from captured CO₂ emissions, into a variety of chemical raw materials. Under the terms of the partnership, BASF’s Care Chemicals division and Acies Bio will use the specialized microbes and scale up the fermentation process to produce fatty acids and derivatives used to manufacture various chemical compounds.

For BASF, the expected benefits of the project include increased scale and flexibility, leading to a diversification of the renewable feedstock portfolio and contributing to the resilience of Care Chemicals’ global supply chain, the German chemical group said.

“Biotechnology complements our chemistry to create a more sustainable future,” commented Matthias Maase, global director Sustainability, Care Chemicals at BASF. “We are very pleased to have found the right partner in Acies Bio to further develop this innovation at an early stage. With a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, our research scope of the partnership covers the entire chain from production strain development to large scale manufacturing.”

Gregor Kosec, director of R&D at Acies Bio, added: “This collaboration demonstrates the transformative potential of Acies Bio’s microbial innovations to drive net-zero production of specialty and industrial chemicals.”