Solugen, ADM plan Minnesota biomanufacturing plant

In Minnesota, Solugen and ADM have partnered to build a biobased specialty chemicals and building blocks production plant.  Under the terms of the agreement, Solugen will build a new 500,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility adjacent to ADM’s existing corn complex in Marshall, MN. The facility will utilize ADM-provided dextrose to scale its current line of lower-carbon organic acids and develop new, innovative molecules to replace existing fossil fuel-based materials.

The companies also plan to collaborate on commercialization opportunities of these biomaterials for a range of applications including energy, water treatment, agriculture, construction materials, cleaning, personal care, and more.

“The strategic partnership with ADM will allow Solugen to bring our chemienzymatic process to a commercial scale and meet existing customer demand for our high-performance, cost-competitive, sustainable products,” said Gaurab Chakrabarti, Co-Founder and CEO of Solugen. “As one of the few scaled-up and de-risked biomanufacturing assets in the country, Solugen’s Bioforge platform is helping bolster domestic capabilities and supply chains that are critical in ensuring the U.S. reaches its ambitious climate targets.”

Solugen plans to begin offsite construction this year and on-site construction in early 2024. The initial phase, which is scheduled to start up in the first half of 2025, is expected to create at least 40 permanent jobs and another 100 temporary construction jobs during commissioning.

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