SYDNEY, June 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Biotechnology company Amyris said Wednesday that they will partner with the Queensland government in Australia to open a biorefinery as part of the state's vision to produce 1 billion Australian dollars (760 million U.S. billion dollars) of sustainable, export-oriented biotechnology products.
"The company's proposed biorefinery would aim to produce 23,000 tonnes a year of a sugarcane-based ingredient called farnesene which is used in a range products including cosmetics, fragrances, nutraceuticals, polymers, and lubricants," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement obtained by Xinhua.
With an already successful biorefinery in Brazil, the Californian company's expansion into Queensland, according to Palaszczuk, is an ideal next step due to the state's abundance of sugarcane and close reach to Asia.
"Queensland offers an excellent location option for Amyris with its favorable business climate, extensive sugar industry and geographic proximity to supply our current partners in China and other Asian markets," Amyris President & CEO John Melo said.
"Funding from the Queensland Government along with the operating expertise and sugar cane base of our local partner makes this factory possible and enables savings from our current production in Brazil and the associated shipping costs," Melo said.
The newly-formed partnership has been part of a push by the state government to attract investors and commercial-scale biorefineries to regional Queensland, in order to process the extensive amount of agricultural and industrial waste materials that are produced in the region.
"Support for biorefinery projects will create high-value jobs and investment in regional Queensland by using renewable feedstocks to create biofuel and other bioproducts," Palaszczuk said.
Despite the announcement, a Queensland state government spokesperson said an exact location for the facility is still to be finalized, along with the planned date of construction.
