German bioenergy company Verbio has launched what it says is the world’s first large-scale ethenolysis plant based on rapeseed methyl ester, marking a major expansion from biofuels into renewable chemicals.

 

The nearly €100 million investment at Verbio’s Bitterfeld site will produce up to 60,000 tonnes of bio-based chemicals a year, creating around 50 new jobs and bringing the company’s workforce at the site to about 130.

 

The plant will convert rapeseed methyl ester into renewable carbon compounds that can replace fossil-based feedstocks in products including lubricants, detergents, cleaning products and plastics.

 

The move gives Verbio a new market for rapeseed methyl ester, which it already produces in large quantities for biodiesel. Instead of using the material solely as an energy source, the company is now pushing it further up the value chain into higher-value chemical products.

 

“With this new production plant we are supplementing our biorefinery with a further stage in the value chain, building on an established raw material base,” says Verbio CEO Claus Sauter. 

 

“By processing European rapeseed oil, we are strengthening regional agriculture and reducing our reliance on global supply chains that are prone to disruption. In addition to sustainability considerations, this is of key importance for Germany as a business location.”

 

Verbio is bringing the plant online as Europe’s chemical industry faces mounting pressure from high production costs, international competition and the need to move away from fossil-based raw materials.

 

Carbon remains essential to chemical manufacturing, making the development of scalable and commercially viable renewable carbon sources a critical challenge.

 

Verbio’s answer is a new production route for two specialty chemicals — 1-decene and 9-DAME — made from rapeseed-based feedstock rather than crude oil.

 

German Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär described the project as a sign of the German chemical industry’s ability to innovate.

 

"To know what is not yet known by anyone else. And then to do what no one else is doing. Verbio demonstrates how this is done; you are demonstrating this with your new production plant for bio-based speciality chemicals. 

 

"Your lubricants, plastics and detergents are not manufactured from crude oil, but from biomass such as rapeseed. Wow, what a sensation! […] With the commissioning of the new production plant, you are sending out a very strong message at a time when the price of crude oil is on everyone’s lips and we are realising just how dependent we actually are.

 

You have a solution for that. In doing so, you are also ushering in a new era at the Bitterfeld site, with its long industrial heritage.”

 

Michael Carus, Senior Advisor and shareholder of the nova-Institute, said Europe cannot compete indefinitely on the basis of cheap fossil feedstocks.

 

“In the long run, Europe will not be able to compete with other regions of the world on the basis of cheap fossil raw materials. Our opportunity lies in creating new value here based on renewable carbon. It is crucial that such solutions do not remain at pilot scale, but are scaled up for industrial production. 

 

"The plant in Bitterfeld demonstrates the potential of bio-based raw materials for competitive and more resilient chemical production in Europe."

 

The plant’s technology is based on ethenolysis, a form of olefin metathesis. Catalysts developed by Verbio’s Hungarian subsidiary, XiMo, enable the targeted conversion of carbon compounds in rapeseed methyl ester into molecules used in chemical applications.

 

The underlying chemistry has a Nobel Prize pedigree. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering work on olefin metathesis.

 

For Schrock, seeing the technology reach industrial scale was particularly significant.

 

“It is truly special to see today how our research is being put into industrial practice. The fact that olefin metathesis is now being used on this scale is a moving moment for me."

 

Verbio says the plant represents the transition of the technology from research and development into industrial-scale manufacturing.

 

The commissioning does not mean the plant will immediately operate at full capacity. Verbio expects production to ramp up progressively as customers qualify the new chemical building blocks for specific applications.

 

“We have made an upfront investment of just under EUR 100 million to provide the renewable molecules needed for the transformation. It is now up to the chemical industry to make use of this new option. But consumers can also make a contribution to helping locally manufactured bio-based products gain a foothold in the market through their purchasing decisions,” explains Claus Sauter.

 

Verbio says it has already received enquiries from customers across Europe, as well as North and South America and Asia.

 

The company sees further room for expansion as demand develops, with potential to scale its technology, raw-material supply and production capacity.

 

“We are turning innovations into applications, strengthening biomass as a raw material base for a chemical industry fit for the future, and creating additional value at an existing German chemical-industry site,” says Claus Sauter.

 

The company also expects its Bitterfeld and Zörbig operations to remain long-term anchors for regional bioeconomy and industrial activity.

 

“Our sites in Zörbig and Bitterfeld are established for the long term. Here, we want to further promote the bioeconomy and regional value creation. The proximity to local farms, which supply us with raw materials, and the existing industrial infrastructure are key location advantages for us,” emphasises Sauter.

 

With the Bitterfeld plant now operational, Verbio is betting that rapeseed can become more than a source of renewable fuel — and that renewable carbon can carve out a larger role in Europe’s chemical industry.