Hyosung to spend $1 billion to convert sugar into biobased BDO

In South Korea, c&en reported that Hyosung, the world’s largest maker of spandex fibers, plans to spend $1 billion on a site in Vietnam that will use Genomatica’s fermentation technology to convert sugar into 1,4-butanediol (BDO), a spandex precursor that’s typically made from coal or natural gas.

According to the report, Hyosung plans to produce 50,000 metric tons of biobased BDO per year by 2026 and 200,000 tons annually by 2035.

In addition to spandex, BDO is used to make polybutylene terephthalate and other plastics. Most BDO is produced in China, where many plants use coal as a starting material, the report added. 

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