Asahi Glass, JMTC form JV to produce organic acids from biomass

Asahi Glass Co Ltd (AGC) and Japan Material Technologies Corporation (JMTC) have established a joint venture, which aims to commercialise biochemical technologies that produce organic acids, such as lactic acid, from biomass. While JMTC will own 92 percent in the new bio-organic acid JV, named JMTC Enzyme Co Ltd, the remaining stake will be with Asahi Glass.
 
The new company will commercialise the technologies at an early date, by acquiring part of the intellectual property, etc for organic acid production based on Schizosaccharomyces pombe (S. pombe) developed by AGC, as well as by using engineers seconded from AGC. Besides, with organic acid production technologies based on S. pombe at the core, the new company will proceed with the commercialisation of D-lactic acid, etc, for which Asahi Glass has already completed basic development, as well as continuously develop other organic acid production technologies.
 
The AGC Group, as part of its measures to increase corporate value set out in the management policy AGC plus, is promoting measures including carve-out, licensing-out, and sales of intellectual property rights, with the aim of effectively using in-house technology seeds that can to contribute to safety and security.