The Competitive Edge: Catalyxx

Q: What was the reason for founding your organization – what was the open niche you saw that could be addressed with a new product or service? What was the problem, or gap, or opportunity?

Catalyxx was formed with the purposes of owning the exclusive rights to a technology, originally developed by Abengoa Bioenergy, that converts ethanol into n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol by means of chemical catalysis.

The technology is protected by a family of seven different patents covering catalyst formulation and use and process for the production of the chemicals.

Catalyxx provides value to ethanol by its conversion into higher alcohols avoiding the typical scalation problems of the biological route.

Moreover, the cost of production is significantly lower than the petrochemical process and it reduces GHG up to 85%.

The technology has been extensively proven at lab, bench and pilot scales. It has accumulated more than 30,000 hours of testing and the process engineering package is already developed and ready for commercialization.

The catalyst has been produced at an industrial scale and is also ready for commercial deployment.

Q: Tell us about your organization. What do you do?

Our technology converts ethanol into n-butanol, n-hexanol, n-octanol, and n-decanol.

Catalyxx business model is focused on licensing the technology, providing project development services, engineering for plant integration, marketing of the chemicals and being a minority shareholder in some of the projects.

As part of our license, we will provide our licensee with the process engineering development package that is a set of documents including PFD’s, P&ID’s, list of equipment, main equipment specifications, operation manuals and other customary documents part of the basic engineering package.

Catalyxx will also supply the catalyst for the reactions.

Q: What stage of development are you?

Commercial stage – have mature products or services on the market.

Q: What do your technologies, products or services do and accomplish – how does it (they) work, who is it (they) aimed for?

Catalyxx’s patented technology makes possible the condensation of ethanol with very high selectivity to linear alcohols, eliminating side reactions typical in Guerbet’s condensation reaction.

Technology is ready for commercial implementation.

Catalyxx customers are ethanol producers that want to diversify their product offering and chemical companies that need a renewable solution to the sourcing of these alcohols.

Ethanol producers are suffering low margins and our proposal will increase the value of their assets by producing high price chemicals.

The chemical plant can be bolted onto an existing ethanol plant or can be a standalone facility placed in a different location where there is access to ethanol.

Q: Competitively, what gives your technology, product or service set an edge in cost or performance, sustainability, or any other aspect, that makes it stand out from the crowd, In short, what makes it transformative?

Our process uses available and abundant feedstocks (ethanol) and produces commodities (n-butanol) and specialty chemicals (n-hexanol. n-octanol, n-decanol).

The cost of production is at an average 40% lower than the petrochemical n-butanol, basically due to the high value of our coproducts.

Our products are renewable and can reduce GHG up to 85% compared with petrochemical n-butanol, depending on the origin of ethanol.

The technology has been fully developed and is ready for commercial implementation.

Q: What are the top milestones you have accomplished in the past 3 years?

Taking into consideration that our company is two years old, we can say that the main milestones have been:

1. Signature of the license agreement between Abengoa Bioenergy and Catalyxx.

2. Negotiation of licensing agreements in three different locations.

3. Secure funding for resuming operations of the pilot plant.

Q: What are the top milestones you will accomplish in the next 3 years?

1. Signature of the first licensing agreements.

2. Secure funding for the development of technology for conversion to jet fuel.

3. Development of other technologies for the production of different chemicals from ethanol.

Q. Where can I learn more about Catalyxx?

Click here to visit Catalyxx’s website.