A unique European alliance involving The Linde Group has been set up in plant construction and biocatalysis to develop climate-friendly biofuels, which will not compete with food production.
Süd-Chemie AG, a world-leading producer of catalysts and adsorbent materials, entered into an exlcusive agreement with Linde to develop and market plants for the production of second-generation biofuels. Under the agreement, biotechnology will be used to extract fuels such as ethanol from the parts of plants that contain cellulose, such as wheat and maize straw, grasses and wood.
Second-generation biofuels, which are based on these renewable raw materials, have a significantly reduced effect on the climate and energy balance, when compared to the first-generation biofuels being used today, such as biodiesel derived from rapeseed oil. Moreover, and perhaps more significantly in the present food climate, these do not compete with the cultivation of crops for food and animal feed.
The partners in this unique European alliance complement each other perfectly, as Süd-Chemie will be supplying its know-how in biocatalysts and bioprocessing technology, while Linde, through its subsidiary Linde-KCA-Dresden, has a high level of expertise in chemical and biotechnological plant engineering.
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