Construction commences on world's largest bio-based succinic acid plant

Myriant Technologies, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Myriant Lake Providence Inc., is to commence construction on the world's largest bio-based succinic acid plant. The plant, to be built at an investment of US$80 million will be spread over 392,000 sq. ft. at the Port of Lake Providence. Once operational in 2012, the project will use sorghum and carbon dioxide to produce up to 30 mln lbs per year of succinic acid. The project was awarded funding in January 2010 from the DOE and will also benefit from funding provided by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, or DOTD, to the port via its Port Priority program. In addition, Louisiana Economic Development is providing an incentive package that includes turnkey workforce solutions from LED FastStart, a 5-6% rebate on payroll expenses and certain sales taxes through the Quality Jobs program, and property tax abatement for materials used in new manufacturing through the Industrial Tax Exemption program. "Our commitment to making Louisiana the best place in the world for businesses to invest and succeed continues to create more opportunities for our workers to pursue their dreams right here at home," said Gov. Jindal. "Myriant's new, sustainable specialty chemical manufacturing plant is great news for Lake Providence and for Northeast Louisiana. Not only does this project create nearly 200 new jobs for the people of Northeast Louisiana, it also is a beacon to innovators everywhere by using cutting-edge technology to help reduce our dependence on foreign imported oil. This type of alternative energy manufacturing venture is one of our top target growth industries that helps to diversify the economy of our state, attract more businesses, and create more jobs. Our state's great low-cost manufacturing environment, well-established transportation and logistics networks, and skilled workforce trained in specialty chemicals provide several competitive advantages for companies like Myriant." "This project puts Louisiana at the forefront of innovation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, Secretary Steven Chu. Succinic acid is traditionally produced from petroleum-based feedstocks and used in a wide variety of applications, including the production of polymers, fibers, surfactants, detergents and flavors. Bio-based succinic acid can directly substitute for the petroleum-based version, thus providing a renewable bio-based industrial chemical building block and reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Selection of the site was based on factors including strategic location at the Port of Lake Providence, with its combination of rail, highway and barge access, as well as incentives offered by the state, feedstock options for the facility, as well as low-cost transportation options for both the inputs and products.