EXXONMOBIL AND CLARIANT TO COLLABORATE WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY GROUP ON BIOFUELS ADVANCEMENT

Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland; www.clariant.com) announced that it has signed a joint research agreement with ExxonMobil Corp. (Irving, Tex.; www.exxonmobil.com) and Renewable Energy Group (REG) to evaluate the potential use of cellulosic sugars from sources such as agricultural waste and residues to produce biofuel, which has the potential to play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new partnership expands a previously announced agreement[1] for joint research between ExxonMobil and REG, in which the companies successfully validated the ability of REG Life Sciences bio-conversion technology to convert sugars from cellulosic biomass into biodiesel through a single-step process. The new agreement with Clariant allows ExxonMobil and REG to further optimize REG’s bio-conversion process using previously tested and benchmarked cellulosic sugars created through Clariant’s sunliquid process. The companies’ ultimate objective is to combine Clariant’s and REG’s processes into a seamless cellulosic biomass-to-biodiesel technology.