Bioamber Commissions World's First Renewable Succinic Acid Plant

POMACLE, France , Jan. 20 /CNW Telbec/ - Bioamber, a joint venture between US-based DNP Green Technology and France-based ARD (Agro-industrie Recherches et Développements), announces the successful start-up and commissioning of the world's first bio-based succinic acid plant. Since December 2009 , the plant has been producing renewable succinic acid from wheat derived glucose.

Built on time and on budget, this industrial scale plant has an initial annual capacity of 2,000 metric tons. Bioamber's renewable succinic acid offers higher purity than petroleum derived succinic acid, with the added benefit of consuming CO2 gas in the production process, giving it a distinct advantage over the traditional petrochemical route.

Bioamber will begin selling bio-based succinic acid immediately to a variety of customers and will build market demand as it negotiates the sale of licenses for large scale succinic acid plants.

"Since 2007, we have sampled over 50 companies in a number of applications including plastics, polyurethanes, polyesters, plasticizers, solvents and de-icers," said Patrick Piot, General Manager of Bioamber. "This production plant is a major milestone in our development. Renewable succinic acid is no longer an R&D program; it is a commercial reality for the chemical industry."

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. Along with its affiliate 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

About DNP Green Technology

DNP Green Technology is a private 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 succinic acid and its derivatives. DNP Green Technology has established a joint venture, known as Bioamber, to scale up and commercialize its succinic acid technology. 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. and Montreal , Canada .

For more information, please visit www.dnpgreen.com

About Bioamber

Bioamber is a white biotechnology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of bio-based succinic acid. Bioamber's mission is to license turn-key technology packages to companies seeking to produce succinic acid and its derivatives from renewable feedstocks. Bioamber is a joint venture between DNP Green Technology and Agro-Industrie Recherches et Développements.

For more information, please visit www.bio-amber.com

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: Mike Hartmann, VP Corporate, DNP Green Technology, [phone] x120