Yeast technology deal struck for bioethanol use

Bioethanol yeast developing company Lesaffre, and its business unit Fermentis, has acquired xylose isomerase technology from yeast technology providers Butalco.

‘This acquisition, combined with our own intellectual property, allows us to finalise the construction of an industrial yeast strain suitable for second generation ethanol,’ says Fermentis general manager Didier Masy.

According to Butalco, the xylose isomerase technology enables an improved production of lignocellulosic biofuels as the enzyme is highly active in yeast cells and, in contrast to other xylose technologies, is not inhibited by fermentation side products like xylitol.

‘This sale of our technology is an important milestone as it enables us to invest more resources in our other internal research and development programmes,’ adds Butalco CEO Gunter Festel.

The deal included the granting of a license to Butalco, with the right to sublicense to third parties, for the use of the xylose isomerase technology for the production of biobutanol.