Project description
Novel method for the biological production of butanol
Climate change is a worldwide threat to human health. As such, novel solutions for greener fuel alternatives are urgently needed. Recently, butanol, a four-carbon alcohol, usually used as an industrial solvent, has received attention as a potential renewable fuel. Unfortunately, it is mainly produced from fossil fuels, generating large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU-funded BUTANOVA project will tackle this issue by introducing a novel technology that presents a biological alternative production method for n-butanol. This will ensure high purity while significantly decreasing emissions and bringing down costs.
Objective
Butanol is a 4-carbon alcohol generally used as an industrial solvent with a growing multi-billion market and with a high potential as a renewable fuel. It is commonly produced from fossil fuels through very pollutant processes, strongly contributing to GHG emissions, and thus requiring more sustainable and greener production alternatives. During the past decade, some of the limitations in the biological production of butanol were tackled with the development of solventogenic microorganisms and advances in fermentation approaches. However, none of these solutions has reached industrial production and are either focusing on the less interesting isobutanol or based on anaerobic processes and still limited by to the use of Acetyl-CoA as the pathway precursor for n-butanol biosynthesis, thus limiting the process yield and productivities and the diversity of hosts that can be used and, consequently, the choice of feedstock.
BUTANOVA technology is a novel biological alternative for the production of n-butanol based on an innovative and proprietary metabolic pathway developed by SILICO. BUTANOVA comprises a more efficient metabolic pathway, capable of higher yields, productivities and purity in either anaerobic or aerobic operation, for the production of n-butanol from a new precursor, alpha-ketoglutarate. Conversely to competing solutions, the use of alpha-ketoglutarate opens the door to a great variety of hosts and feedstock use.
The major objective of BUTANOVA is the technology demonstration and market introduction of a cost-competitive alternative for the biological production of n-butanol, including the scaling-up and process documentation as part of Phase 2.
To meet this end, it is required to first complete an IP risk analysis and technological/market feasibility evaluation in Phase 1. The successful accomplishment of the project objectives will position our company for high growth with expected revenues of more than 10M €, 5 years after project completion.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials biofuels
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.2.3. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges
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H2020-EU.2.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
4715 387 Braga
Portugal
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.