EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 11,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS), a
leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world's
transition to sustainable consumption through its
Lab-to-Marketâ„¢ technology platform today announced that it has
started the commissioning of its new fermentation plant in Barra
Bonita, Brazil.
The greenfield site at Barra Bonita is a strategic investment
with which Amyris leads the biotechnology sector with manufacturing
at industrial scale. The new plant is strategically located next to
the Raizen sugar mill, which is the world's second largest of its
kind, ensuring continuity of supply and favorable feedstock
economics. Sugar cane is a key feedstock for producing our
sustainable ingredients. Brazil
ranks number one in global sugar production, and operating costs in
Brazil are advantaged compared to
the U.S. and Europe. The
fermentation plant has a proprietary design with a process tower
that is 2-times taller than the company's prior Brotas plant to
take full advantage of gravity in its vertical fermentation
process. The site consists of five fermentation "mini-factories"
capable of concurrently producing our more than 13 currently scaled
and future bio-fermented products. The site has ample space and
infrastructure for future expansion.
There is strong consumer demand for bio-based products. A real
shift is occurring across multiple end-markets, including food and
personal care. Biotechnology has seen significant investment over
the past years. However, the majority of the funding has been
applied toward the front of the funnel; gene discovery, genetic
pathway modeling and microbe engineering. Little investment has
been seen downstream in fermentation process development, scale up
and fermentation at scale. The lack of scaled precision
fermentation expertise and capacity, and thus the ability to
manufacture cost effectively at scale is an impediment to
biotechnology making a commercial impact. The sector's capital
light approach toward fermentation capacity does not bode well for
future success.
"At Amyris we are taking control of our destiny with the Barra
Bonita plant," said John Melo,
President and Chief Executive Officer. "Industry experts are seeing
a significant future gap between supply and demand of
fermentation-based products. We set out a strategic path over a
decade ago that, beyond being the recognized leaders in the science
of biotechnology, we would invest in fermentation process
capability and capacity. We have a highly experienced team that
combines the art and science of manufacturing at scale all the way
from the lab bench to the fermentation tower. We are very proud of
the team that has engineered and constructed our new plant in
record time and during an unprecedented pandemic. We have started
to activate the process control modules and are in the process of
testing the instruments and automation protocols to ensure that all
systems and components are operating efficiently and safely. We are
looking forward to accelerating the commissioning process,
including the completion of the sterility hold, with a view to
operationalize the plant during the second quarter."
About Amyris
Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) is a leading synthetic biotechnology
company, transitioning the Clean Health & Beauty and Flavors
& Fragrances markets to sustainable ingredients through
fermentation and the company's proprietary
Lab-to-Marketâ„¢ technology platform. This Amyris platform
leverages state-of-the-art machine learning, robotics and
artificial intelligence, enabling the company to rapidly bring new
innovation to market at commercial scale. Amyris ingredients are
included in over 20,000 products from the world's top brands,
reaching more than 300 million consumers. Amyris also owns and
operates a family of consumer brands that is constantly evolving to
meet the growing demand for sustainable, effective and accessible
products. For more information, please visit
http://www.amyris.com.
Amyris, the Amyris logo and Lab-to-Market are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries.
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SOURCE Amyris, Inc.