Bio-based materials: Sugar increases in attraction

AkzoNobel has joined forces with SuikerUnie, Rabobank, Deloitte, NOM (the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands), Groningen Seaports and the province of Groningen, to investigate the possibility of producing chemicals from beet-derived sugar feedstock.

The parties have asked Deloitte to perform a feasibility study to provide an independent critical review and economic assessment on the viability of several business cases for commercial production in the Delfzijl chemical cluster in the Netherlands.

Part of ongoing industry efforts to replace increasingly scarce non-renewable raw materials, the partnership could potentially lead to the synthesis of a range of chemicals in a cost-effective and sustainable manner.

Rex Features Sugar beet will become more attractive as a feedstock in northwest Europe as quotas are ended in 2017

It follows the recent publication of a report by Deloitte, which singles out the Netherlands as a cost leader in the production of sugar. The production of sugar beet is also expected to grow significantly due to impending deregulation.

“We know that the Netherlands can produce ample volumes of sugar beet,” explains Knut Schwalenberg, managing director of AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals, who is also responsible for the company’s Delfzijl activities. “We will now study how this can be used to create additional production and jobs in the Delfzijl area.”

Marco Waas, director of RD&I and Technology at AkzoNobel Industrial Chemicals, added: “We are always looking to use innovation to drive sustainable growth. The beauty of this project is that it is also a perfect fit with our own ‘Planet Possible’ approach to developing new technologies that are less fossil-based and reduce our environmental footprint across the value chain.”

Commenting on the partnership, Albert Markusse, CEO of SuikerUnie, said: “The really interesting aspect of this approach is the collaboration that will take place between different sectors – agriculture, chemicals and logistics. The results will be interesting for us all.”

Siem Jansen, president of NOM, also hopes for a positive outcome: “Sugar beets are a major crop, not only in the northern part of the Netherlands, but also across the border in Niedersachsen. New high value products based on this crop will impact the whole value chain and could provide an important boost to the regional economy.”

The study will take around three months to complete and the partners expect to identify one or more successful business cases for commercial production in Delfzijl.

COMPETITIVE POTENTIAL

The Deloitte report, “Opportunities for the Fermentation-based Chemical Industry,” published in September, concludes that northwest Europe can be a competitive location for fermentation-based processes and business. Production costs for sugar from beet and cane over the past five years put Brazil and Thailand (cane) and the UK and the Netherlands (beet) in a strong position, at the lower end of the cost curve.

In fact, says Deloitte, due to high volumes last season, the Netherlands and the UK took the lead in low-cost sugar production. This it says, “is an interesting development and a trend that will continue.” Crop yield and sugar yield have both been increasing in the Netherlands in recent years.

In addition to these improvements in cost position, says Deloitte, changes in regulation in 2017 will remove restrictions from European sugar production and trade in the global market. This will boost production volumes. “Once the quota is lifted we expect production volumes in the EU to increase and prices to move nearer global market levels,” says the report.

It calculates that 2m-4m tonnes/year of sugar could be available in northwest Europe from 2017 to be used by the fermentation industry or sold on global sugar markets. This means supply will be more secure, with the possibility of long-term contracts. The feedstock position for industry, already attractive, will thus continue to improve, it concludes.