Danimer expands PHA pilot facility

Danimer Scientific, which produces biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymers, has expanded its pilot plant in Rochester, New York. The plant is testing a thermocatalytic process to make PHAs. The company says the method could have cost advantages over conventional, fermentation-based routes to PHAs and could also yield polymers with better properties. Danimer acquired the process through its 2021 purchase of Novomer, which made the PHA poly(3-hydroxypropionate) from carbon monoxide and ethylene oxide. The project expanded the pilot facility by 20 times, to 20 metric tons per year. Danimer operates a fermentation-based plant in Winchester, Kentucky.