At ChainCraft bio- based chemicals are developed and produced which have a significantly lower carbon footprint than traditional petrochemical or palm oil derived chemicals. The fatty acids (MCFA) which we produce are natural molecules, present in various plants, animals and humans. The acids are not harmful for the environment and are degraded easily in soil and water, being a safe substance to use in many applications. In the chemical and agri-feed-food industries these MCFA can replace the unsustainable ingredients and precursors and also are perfect replacers for various harmful ingredients in e.g. plasticizers (phthalates), animal nutrition (antibiotics) and agricultural herbicides (glyphosates). MCFA are also used as a precursor in the chemical industry in the production of alcohols and surfactants which in turn are used by FMCG-producers for the production of detergents and personal care products. Examples are cleaning fluids, shampoos, cosmetics and air fresheners. Also, MCFA are used in the production of performance materials such paints, coatings and solvents. This will lead to better products which improve our daily lives. The world will run out of oil and the use of palm oil is destructive in various ways. We prove that using food waste as a resource for chemical production is feasible, already on a small scale. By further upscaling the technology and roll out of plants we will go towards a fully circular chemical industry, replacing all palm and petrochemical based alternatives. The industry will be more spread out over the globe and is less dependent on oilrich countries or countries in which oil palms can grow. Biotech processes can be implemented where food is produced or consumed, which makes global application possible leading to less vulnerable supply chains. The type of fermentation technology we possess will significantly contribute, together with other biotech/chemical processes which are able to process non-food feedstocks into circular chemicals.
Within this project ChainCraft aims to fully develop its technology first to TRL 8, where it will be applied on a wet residual stream coming from the potato industry. The further development of the fermentation (upstream) and recovery & purification (downstream) sections is the main technological development which is needed to come to a final design for the foreseen full scale factory. After which the Basic Engineering of the factory will take place. Next to this, product and application development with partners and further market development are key milestones to achieve. After attracting the needed funding, in which the investment component of EIC will ideally be part, we bring the technology to TRL 9 by realizing the full scale factory.
