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PRODUCTS AND MARKETS
ALDERYS TARGETS THREE MAJOR MARKETS
The efficiency of Alderys’s technologies and the multidisciplinary experience of its teams has allowed it to operate in three markets of major economic importance: speciality chemicals for generating “building-block” compounds, animal nutrition, a rapidly expanding market, and cosmetic industry. The procedures Alderys has developed can produce, in a different manner (fermentation) but with an identical result, types of compounds that each represent sales of millions of dollars.
Since starting operations the company has been able to establish partnership agreements with leading global manufacturers in all three of these economic sectors
> COMMODITY CHEMICALS : "BUILDING BLOCS"
The compounds necessary for the fabrication of plastics, elastomers, tyres, materials, paint, and solvents are, essentially, produced from oil. These elementary compounds, or building blocks, represent markets of billions of dollars worldwide dominated by the chemical industry. Thanks to the biological engineering developed by Alderys, it is possible to fabricate these different compounds from sustainable, renewable plant matter using microorganisms. These procedures are also less polluting and less dangerous than the present-day petrochemical procedures.
Among these building blocks, some are already being naturally synthesised using microorganisms, but not in bulk. Alderys’s objective is to optimise the natural biosynthesis pathways, to improve the yield and productivity, so that the corresponding fermentation procedures become economically viable. In general, Alderys embeds these biosynthesis pathways in yeast, a microorganism used without risk by humanity for thousands of years. The yeast used by Alderys is identical to that used in bread-making throughout the world (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a usage that has traversed the centuries, ably demonstrating the innocuity of this microorganism. Other building blocks necessary for the fabrication of our everyday objects are compounds whose biological synthesis has never been established. Alderys now conceives original synthesis pathways will allow us to access these compounds and develop the catalysts required for their synthesis within a microorganism.
One of the programmes developed by Alderys has created a procedure for the production through fermentation of a building-block compound whose industrial applications represent a market on billions of dollars. The unique performance of this Alderys process permits its industrialisation and employs non-food plant resources.
> COSMETICS
The cosmetic industry has been using molecules extracted from plants or produced through fermentation for many decades. But many formulating agents or even active ingredients, whether they are moisturizing, soothing, or even vitamins, are produced by chemical synthesis. As for the extraction of active ingredients from plants, that often suffers from low yields. The progress made in biological engineering over recent years makes it now possible to replace chemical synthesis or extraction from plants with new, more rapid and more efficient, procedures based on fermentation. Alderys has identified a number of molecules for which it wishes to develop new production methods for active ingredients which are already on the market, based on these advances in biological engineering procedures. In addition to replacing methods of extraction and chemical syntheses for existing molecules, Alderys will also participate to the discovery of new cosmetic ingredients and develop the corresponding fermentation processes.
> ANIMAL NUTRITION
The continuing growth of the world population brings with it significant needs in alimentary resources. Today, humanity’s food depends on compounds chemically synthesised from oil. This can be molecules consumed by humans or those serving as additives to animal feed. In fact certain molecules, such as certain amino acids and vitamins, which are biologically essential are not synthesised by animals and are not found in sufficient quantities in plants. . The global market for amino acids and vitamins represents annual sales of many billions of dollars. This market is showing strong, regular growth due to the increased food demands from Asia and South America, for animal protein in particular.
For many years, a number of these essential alimentary supplements have been produced using fermentation processes that use various microorganisms, for example bacteria. For others, there are no microorganisms that produce them in sufficient quantity that industrial production would be viable. These compounds are therefore produced using classic chemical synthesis. Alderys is taking up the challenge to develop new fermentation processes, which will replace the present chemical synthesis, for such compounds. Alderys is developing a number of fermentation programmes for animal feed additives in partnership with one of the world leaders on this market.
