MONTPELLIER, France, June 3, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI), a cleantech company that designs and develops a new generation of industrial processes based on the exploitation of Deinococcus bacteria, announces that it has signed a collaborative R&D agreement with SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Group. This two-year contract is the first step of a project aimed at exploring the potential for developing a new industrial sector for transforming urban organic waste into ethanol through the action of Deinococcus bacteria.
For now, organic waste is essentially recycled through composting and methanization. The abundant availability of this source of carbon, its cost and its composition, which is favorable to the growth of microorganisms, make it a realistic candidate for innovative recycling into molecules of industrial interest, including commodities.
" With its amazing capacity for effectively degrading all types of biomass, Deinococcus creates value from waste that is little used today, " declared Emmanuel Petiot, CEO of DEINOVE. " In cooperation with SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, one of the world leaders in processing and recycling waste, we are expanding our potential markets and are contributing to the development of a real circular economy ."
The R&D program aims to define the optimum conditions for producing ethanol on a pre-industrial scale
For 6 months already, DEINOVE has been working with SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT which has been providing various types of waste coming from its processing units. The results of this upstream research phase have confirmed that these substrates can be transformed into interesting molecules, in our case ethanol, by Deinococcus bacteria.
Consequently, the partners have decided to undertake a two-year collaborative research program, actually a true extension of the DEINOL programme, which first phase will focus on optimizing the main stages of the process' development:
- Choice of substrates supplied by SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT and pretreatment conditions;
- Choice of a Deinococcus strain adapted to these substrates;
- Definition of the conditions for fermentative production in order to achieve a satisfactory ethanol production rate in 20-L bioreactors.
About DEINOVE
DEINOVE (Alternext Paris: ALDEI) is ushering in a new era of green chemistry by designing and developing new standards of production based on bacteria of untapped potential: the Deinococci. Taking advantage of the bacteria's unique genetic properties and unusual robustness, DEINOVE optimizes natural fermentation and metabolic capabilities of these bacterial "micro-factories" to produce high value-added products from non-food biomass. The Company's primary markets are 2nd generation biofuels (DEINOL) and bio-based chemicals (DEINOCHEM). On these markets, the Company offers its technology to industrial partners globally.
Listed on NYSE Alternext since April 2010, DEINOVE was founded by Dr. Philippe Pouletty, General Partner of TRUFFLE CAPITAL, and Pr. Miroslav Radman, of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris Descartes University. The company employs over 40 people in its new offices and laboratories located in Montpellier, France.
More information at www.deinove.com
About SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT
Natural resources are not infinite. Every day, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) and its subsidiaries deal with the challenge of protecting resources by providing innovative solutions to industries and to millions of people. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT supplies drinking water to 92 million people, provides wastewater treatment services for 65 million people and collects the waste produced by nearly 52 million people. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT has 79,550 employees, and with its presence on five continents, is a world leader exclusively dedicated to water and waste management services. SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT generated total revenues of EUR 14.6 billion in 2013.
More information at www.suez-environnement.com
Contacts
DEINOVE
Emmanuel Petiot
CEO
Tel: +33 (0) 4 48 19 01 28
Coralie Martin
Communication, Marketing and IR Manager
Tel: +33 (0) 4 48 19 01 60
ALIZE RP, Press relations
Caroline Carmagnol and Sayuli Nishioka
Tel: +33 (0) 1 70 22 53 90 / +33 (0) 1 70 22 53 86
Mobile: +33 (0) 6 64 18 99 59
140603 | DEINOVE PR SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT http://hugin.info/142979/R/1790167/615481.pdf
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