“This is an important acquisition for Danimer that advances our strategy of providing biodegradable solutions to the plastics industry to help solve the global plastic waste crisis,” said Danimer’s CEO Stephen Croskrey. “Paired with Danimer’s leadership in application development, we will now have the potential to provide an even broader range of products with improved barrier properties for packaging and other uses at a lower cost – all while using less energy and delivering biodegradability.”

Headquartered with a pilot plant in Rochester, New York, Novomer develops high-performing, carbon-efficient, cost-effective polymers and chemicals, including poly(3-hydroxypropionate) (p(3HP)), a type of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), all of which can be sourced from renewable or non-renewable feedstocks.

Danimer said Novomer’s p(3HP) is highly complementary with its own inputs and can also be incorporated as a component in certain of its resins. The p(3HP) technology can also be used to produce acrylic acid from renewable and other sources for use across superabsorbent polymer products like diapers and feminine hygiene products.

By incorporating Novomer’s p(3HP) into its own products, Danimer said it expects to have greater flexibility to meet an even broader range of customer needs, as well as the capability of producing its resins at a substantially lower cost. In addition, by blending the inputs, Danimer expects to reduce the amount of fermentation required in producing its resins.

As a result of these anticipated benefits, Danimer expects to modify its previously announced greenfield construction plans for a new facility at its headquarters site in Bainbridge, Georgia, USA, to include fewer fermenters and expand Novomer’s production capacity.

In March, Danimer announced plans to invest $700 million to expand at Bainbridge and nearly quadruple its workforce in Decatur County, to which the city belongs. The company said it would build a new PHA plant with a capacity of 114,000 t/y, to be completed in two phases. An initial three fermenters were expected to be operational in mid-2023 and a second set of three fermenters due to come online in early 2024.

In June, the company also announced the successful completion of a debottlenecking program at its Winchester, Kentucky facility, readying to accelerate production of Nodax, Danimer’s signature PHA, to reach 100% of the plant’s run rate capacity of 20 million lbs. by the end of 2021.

Jeff Uhrig, Novomer’s CEO, will report to Croskrey and will continue to lead the Novomer team in coordination with Danimer’s senior leadership.

Novomer holds more than 100 issued patents and has more than 140 patents pending. The company employs about 20 staff.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist