Daicel Corporation (Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka, President & CEO: Yoshimi Ogawa) agreed to enter an exclusive sales agreement with Genomatica (Head Office: San Diego, CA, USA, CEO: Christophe Schilling) to promote and sell Genomatica’s Brontide™ natural 1,3-butylene glycol (1,3-BG) in the Asia-Pacific region.

1,3-BG is used in personal care products like cosmetics – for moisture retention, improved texture and antimicrobial properties – and as a solubilizer for plant extracts, flavors and fragrances. 1,3-BG is conventionally derived from crude oil, but Genomatica’s Brontide butylene glycol is made from a natural source, responding to customers’ needs for natural products.

Daicel has promoted Genomatica’s Brontide butylene glycol to the personal care market in the Asia-Pacific region since December 2017. As a result, Daicel identified hundreds of potential customers and received many inquiries. The initial success of the partnership, combined with Genomatica’s large-scale commercial production of Brontide since January 2019, led Daicel and Genomatica to expand their relationship to an exclusive sales agreement.

Daicel will continue to promote and sell Brontide natural butylene glycol in the Asia-Pacific region and anticipates demand quickly growing to thousands of tons.

By expanding the sales of Genomatica’s natural 1,3-BG, Daicel will further respond to a wide variety of the market’s needs and contribute to the realization of “Green Sustainable Chemistry*.”

• ※Chemistry that is friendly to human being and environment and supports the development of the sustainable society.

Genomatica is a widely-recognized leader in bioengineering and aims to lead a transition towards more sustainable materials. It develops biobased process technologies that enable a better way to produce widely-used chemicals, from alternative feedstocks, with better economics, sustainability and performance. Genomatica has commercialized processes for the chemical butanediol (for biodegradable plastics and apparel) and for butylene glycol (cosmetics and personal care) and is working on bio-nylon. Awards include the Kirkpatrick Award, for “the most noteworthy chemical engineering technology commercialized in the world” and the ICIS Innovation Award for its Brontide butylene glycol. To learn more, visit www.genomatica.com or www.brontidebg.com.

For Media Inquiries
Daicel: Organic Chemical Products Company, yuki@jp.daicel.com, +81-3-6711-8213
Genomatica: Christine Gallup, cgallup@genomatica.com, +1 760-586-0845