Project: BIODEMO

Launched in 2008 and financed by ARD with cofinancing from the Grand Est region, the Département of Marne and the ERDF, the BIODEMO project is an industrial demonstration unit for industrial biotechnology, marine and agricultural processes. Fully integrated within the biotech laboratories and the ARD pilot capacity located in Pomacle, it supplements a value chain of leading international significance, ranging from the laboratory to the demonstrator and right up to production for product market launch. Applications: food ingredients, colourings, cosmetics ingredients, bio-plastics, bio-inputs…

Unique in Europe, this industrial demonstrator is located at the heart of the biorefinery in Bazancourt-Pomacle, creating synergies with operators already at the platform (ARD, Chamtor, Cristal Union, Cristanol, Soliance…). In enables a coherent range of research and innovations to be established, including the industrialisation stage. Furthermore, the ARD offering and its location at the biorefinery in Bazancourt-Pomacle may attract other potential investors in production from the area to supplement the services offered by ARD.

This demonstration unit is now operating 24/7 with specific equipment of which the dimensions (such as fermenters of 180m3 and 350m3) enable process robustness to be validated, to minimise the risk of future investments and to validate product specifications, prior to producing the first industrial batches. By producing on a truly industrial scale, this demonstration unit enables operators, whether start-ups or industrial groups, to accelerate their market introduction, validate process feasibility and accurately define the cost of industrialising their products. Numerous French and international operators upscale their processes and products using the industrial demonstrator, which is also able to provide production capacity for the first commercial batches. Numerous innovations worldwide are developed by ARD each year.

Project history

At the outset, the BIODEMO demonstrator was used by a joint venture between the US company DNP Green Technologies and ARD, named BioAmber. After successfully upscaling the production process for succinic acid via fermentation, BioAmber then decided to invest in its first industrial unit in Canada. ARD then withdrew from the adventure while making Biodemo available to other innovative start-ups or industrial projects, with the backing of its laboratories and pilot facilities. Now a complete educational unit supplements the platform with the latest addition being an academic biotechnology research centre. In this context, no less than three research chairs have been established, from Centrale Supelec, AgroParisTech and the Neoma Business School alongside the URCA, forming CEBB. The site is an ideal location for hosting new high-tech companies, especially those in the biotechnology field seeking sugars or other plant substrates to supply their units. The industrial scale of BIODEMO, the final phase of the ARD scale-up offering, attracts a large number of international industrial groups and start-ups.

The function of BIODEMO within the global system of ARD
The BIODEMO demonstrator lies at the heart of a comprehensive and unique offering in the world, enabling any start-up client or industrial group in Europe or North America to accelerate the market introduction of their innovative products (industrial biotechnology, marine, agriculture…) and their production plant investments.

A facility serving ARD projects
Utilisation of this comprehensive production upscaling facility is also made available to the BIO-INPUTS developed by ARD.