PRESS RELEASE
Süd-Chemie and Linde to jointly develop production plants for second-generation biofuels
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Süd-Chemie AG, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of catalysts and adsorbents, and Linde Group, a world leading gases and engineering company, have agreed to co-operate on an exclusive basis to develop and market plants for the production of second-generation biofuels.
This will involve a biotechnological process to extract fuels such as ethanol from plant matter containing cellulose, such as wheat and maize straw, grasses or wood. Based on these renewable resources, second-generation biofuels offer a significant improvement in terms of climate and energy balance compared with the first-generation biofuels already in use today, for instance biodiesel made from rapeseed oil. Besides, they do not compete with the cultivation of either food or animal feed.
The partners in this alliance, which is currently unique in
In view of the growing shortage and increasing price of oil, as well as the impending climate change, the extraction of biofuel from cellulosic vegetable raw materials represents a highly-attractive market of the future. According to the management consultants McKinsey & Company, the entire global market for biofuel will grow to $61 billion by 2010. Recent
Dr. Günter von Au, Managing Board Chairman of Süd-Chemie AG, said: “This co-operation with Linde is of major strategic importance for Süd-Chemie as we intend to bundle our activities even more closely in this highly-attractive market of the future. The aim is to successfully develop to market maturity economic plants for climate-friendly biofuels that offer a high level of energy efficiency.”
Dr. Aldo Belloni, Managing Board Member of Linde AG explained: “This is a very good tie-up between two international technology enterprises. Using bio-catalysis and biotechnological plant engineering we will develop economically-efficient processes for new biofuels on a large scale. We are confident of making a joint contribution to solving key questions in the fields of energy, climate protection and mobility.”
Dr. Andre Koltermann, Head of Strategic Research and Development at Süd-Chemie AG, said: “We are delighted that with Linde-KCA, we have gained a leading facilities contractor in the biotechnology sector as a long-term partner. This co-operation represents the next major step in our development and commercialisation of second-generation biofuel plants based on biocatalysis and bioprocess engineering, and demonstrates the high level of maturity reached by this technology.”
Mr. Uwe Welteroth, Head of the Biotechnological Plants Division at Linde-KCA-Dresden GmbH, added: “We are pleased that as a result of this co-operation with Süd-Chemie, our engineers and biotechnologists will now also be able to contribute their vast experience in the development, design and construction of biotechnological plants towards creating facilities for the production of second-generation biofuels. This will ensure that partners and investors are provided with advanced, efficient and safe plants to manufacture tomorrow’s fuels.”
Enquiries:
Süd-Chemie AG
Corporate Communications
Patrick Salchow, Jochen Orlowski
Ph. +49 (0) 89 5110-250, -247
The Linde Group
Press
Uwe Wolfinger
Ph. +49 (0) 89 357 57-1320
About second-generation biofuels
Today´s already widely-marketed first-generation biofuels are produced solely from plant matter containing either oil, starch or sugar, for instance biodiesel made from rapeseed oil or bioethanol made from starch or sugar. In the case of second-generation biofuels however, use is not made of the starch or oil-bearing parts of plants, but only of cellulose-based matter. In this way, more fuel is obtained as a result of the higher energetic yield. Furthermore, this fuel does not compete with food or animal feed since those parts of the plants containing starch, for instance maize kernels, can still be used to produce food. Second-generation biofuels are also more climate-friendly than fossil fuels, such as oil or natural gas, since during their growth, plants absorb from the atmosphere exactly the amount of climate gas, namely carbon dioxide, that is subsequently emitted when they are used for engine combustion.
About Süd-Chemie
Süd-Chemie AG (www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security Identification Number ISIN: DE0007292005; WKN: 729200) specialty chemicals company headquartered in
About The Linde Group and Linde-KCA
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2007 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.3 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development. For more information see The Linde Group web site at www.linde.com. Linde-KCA-Dresden GmbH, a subsidiary of The Linde Group, is one of the leading companies world-wide when it comes to the planning, delivery and construction of chemical, gas, biotechnology and pharmaceutical plants. For more information about Linde-KCA please go to https://www.linde-kca.com.