Total announced that it has acquired an interest in Elevance Renewables Sciences Inc., a Chicago-based company developing technology to convert renewable oils, such as vegetable oils, into low cost and high value, performance chemicals. This process is based upon olefin metathesis, a Nobel Prize winning technology, according to a Total statement.
This investment is part of Total’s strategy for energy diversification, in particular by supporting the development of innovative start-ups through its Corporate Venture Activity.
Created in 2007, Elevance develops products that are aimed at serving numerous markets, including lubricants, fuels, personal care products, detergents and other specialty chemicals markets.
Elevance is already building its first facility in Indonesia, in joint venture with Wilmar international, in order to implement its technology at industrial scale.
Total’s investment in Elevance is part of a capital increase in which other investors have also participated and that will further support the ongoing development of the company, in particular to build additional facilities. Total will have a seat on Elevance’s board of directors.
Elevance in joint venture with Wilmar International to build world scale biochemical refinery
In June this year, Elevance announced that it had entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Singapore based agribusiness company, Wilmar International Limited to construct a world scale biorefinery in Surabaya, Indonesia.
The joint venture will use Elevance’s proprietary biorefinery technology to produce high-value performance chemicals, advanced biofuels and oleochemicals. The company believes that there is a large existing and rapidly emerging new demand for these products in surfactants, antimicrobials, lubricants, renewable biodiesel and green jet fuels.
This commercial-scale manufacturing facility will begin with a capacity of 180,000 tonnes with the ability to expand up to 360,000 tonnes of products per year. The facility will be located within Wilmar’s new integrated manufacturing complex now under construction. The new plant is expected to come online in 2011, and like all facilities based on Elevance’s biorefinery technology, it will be capable of operating using multiple renewable oil feedstocks, such as palm, mustard, soybean, jatropha or waste oils.
Once operational, the biorefinery will produce green olefins, including a unique distribution of alpha and internal olefins for chemicals and advanced fuels; novel multifunctional esters and acids, including 9-decenoic acid, as well as a premium mixture of oleochemicals and advanced biofuels.
