BioAmber Sarnia, a bio-based succinic acid jv between BioAmber (Plymouth, Minnesota / USA; www.bio-amber.com) and Mitsui (Tokyo / Japan; www.mitsuichem.com), has achieved the final operational milestones set out in a CAD 20m (EUR 13.7m) commercial loan that the jv drew down in 2015. The 30,000 t/y plant, located in Sarnia / Canada, began commercial operations in Q3 last year (see Plasteurope.com of 17.08.2015). "Our lenders had set out rigorous performance criteria for the Sarnia facility and achieving these milestones is independent validation of how well our plant is operating," said Fabrice Orecchioni, BioAmber's COO. "Our facility is the world's largest succinic acid plant and our variable costs are competitive with petro-succinic acid at current oil prices."

The milestones relate to the efficiency of BioAmber's fermentation technology, the plant's throughput and output in continuous operation, and the quality of the final product, Bioamber said. The loan was agreed with Comerica Bank, Export Development Canada (EDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC).

The jv has also demonstrated the performance targets set up by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) relating to greenhouse gas emissions and financial performance, BioAmber said. As a result, SDTC has completed its third-party validation of Sarnia's performance and approved the final grant payment of CAD 1.45m to BioAmber.