Project will leverage Deinococcus bacteria for biomass digestion.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Deinove are joining forces to progress research efforts in biofuels and green chemistry. Deinove is focused on exploiting the natural properties of Deinococcus bacteria for the production of biofuels and other compounds of industrial or pharmaceutical interest.

Ten VTT researchers will team up with the company and its French academic partners from CNRS and INSA to leverage the properties of Deinococci in the digestion of biomass. They will also work on the development of an integrated process for the bioproduction of ethanol and chemicals from renewable feedstocks.

The objective is to evaluate different Deinococcus candidate strains screened by Deinove for deinol cellulosic ethanol production process. This process will then be scaled-up and tested in an industrial pilot by the sugar company Tereos.

“VTT is especially renowned for its expertise in enzyme discovery and engineering, with over 25 years of experience with lignocelluloses-degrading enzymes such as cellulases, hemicellulases, and other key-catalysts for the production of chemicals from biomass sugars,” according to Deinove CEO, Jacques Biton. “In addition, VTT has cutting-edge skills and infrastructure for performing R&D in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and fermentation processes.”

Erkki KM Leppävuori, president and CEO of VTT, adds, “As an open-innovation center creating sustainable industrial solutions, we are delighted to contribute to a future industrial breakthrough that could pave the way for many valuable developments not only in biofuels but also in the forestry and paper industry, the chemicals sector, and other markets.”

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