AkzoNobel, Photanol join forces in sustainable raw materials

Sep 17, 2014 - Dutch chemicals group AkzoNobel (AMS:AKZA) said Wednesday it would partner with local cleantech company Photanol on a process that uses sun power to make chemicals.

The two companies will strive to create a sustainable technology working in the same manner as the photosynthesis activity of plants. This should lead to the production of "green" chemical building blocks
that will eventually replace raw materials AkzoNobel currently uses on the basis of fossil fuels.

The partnership involves Photanol's existing proprietary technology, which uses light to directly convert CO2 from the air into predetermined raw materials such as acetic acid and butanol, with oxygen being the only by-product.

The partners will start with the development of a number of specific chemicals currently used by AkzoNobel's Speciality Chemicals unit, while heading for potential commercial production of fourth-generation bio-based chemicals.

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