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Paris, 3 July 2018 – METabolic EXplorer and the “Société de Projets Industriels” investment fund managed by Bpifrance and financed by the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir and the European Investment Bank, announce the signature of final agreements for the creation of the joint venture METEX NØØVISTA to industrialise an innovative fermentation process developed by METEX. The green chemical plant will be built at Carling (Moselle), thus contributing to the region’s reindustrialisation. It will produce PDO and butyric acid, two bio-based, traceable, GMO-free molecules used in the cosmetics, chemical, animal feed and textile industries.

METabolic EXplorer (METEX) and Bpifrance, through its investment fund Société de Projets Industriels (SPI) in the framework of the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir and the Juncker Plan managed by the European Investment Bank, have signed the final agreements for the creation of METEX NØØVISTA. This joint venture will invest in a plant for the industrial application of a fermentation process originally developed by METEX for the production of molecules from bio-based and traceable raw materials. METEX NØØVISTA will market two products: PDO (1,3-propanediol), a chemical used as an emulsifier and preservative in the cosmetics industry and as an intermediary in the fabrication of polymers for textile and carpet fibres; and butyric acid (BA), a molecule almost exclusively petrochemical-based until now, which is used mainly in animal feed owing to its nutritional and antimicrobial qualities.

The production unit will be constructed on the Carling-St Avold petrochemical platform in Moselle, which is operated by Total and other firms. This green chemical plant will open in early 2020 with an initial capacity of about 6,000 tons. It will contribute not only to the industrial redevelopment of the region, but also to the diversification of this industrial platform, while creating about fifty jobs for local workers.

The total budget for the project is about €48 million. METEX will have a 55% stake in METEX NØØVISTA and will   grant it an exclusive, worldwide licence for its technology. Through its SPI investment fund, Bpifrance will provide 45% of the share capital of METEX NØØVISTA. In addition to the partners’ equity capital, financing will also come from the local community of Saint Avold Synergie, the Region, the State, and Total.

The closing of the agreements for the creation of this joint venture is planned for November 2018 and is subject to several conditions and notably the granting of the construction permit and the plant operating licence.

“The reindustrialisation of a site thanks to a disruptive innovation in green chemistry is symbolic of Bpifrance’s commitment to promoting employment through the structuring of an innovative industry in the energy and environmental transition field. We are proud to support METEX, a pioneer in biochemistry, in this first industrialisation project,” says Magali Joëssel, director of the SPI fund at Bpifrance.

“Creating METEX NØØVISTA with Bpifrance is a key step in the transformation of our company into an industrial and commercial player in green chemistry. Through this joint venture, METEX itself will market the products made with its own innovations. Our technologies are central to current priorities for energy transition and sustainable development. It is a great satisfaction for METEX to be able to contribute to the creation of manufacturing jobs in France in this fast-growing green chemical sector”, adds Benjamin Gonzalez, Chairman and CEO of METEX.

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Press contacts:

Bpifrance
Annelot Huijgen
Tel : +33 (0) 1 41 79 94 48
Annelot.huijgen@bpifrance.fr

Media relations – ACTIFIN –
Isabelle DRAY
Tél : + 33 (0) 1 56 88 11 11
mail : idray@actifin.fr

About METabolic EXplorer – www.metabolic-explorer.com

A pioneer in industrial biochemistry with some 20 years of experience, METabolic Explorer (METEX) develops alternative solutions to the petrochemical processes used in manufacturing.

Using renewable raw materials, it develops innovative industrial fermentation processes to produce competitive chemical compounds used in basic products of everyday life such as animal nutrition and health additives, plastics, textiles, cosmetics, and resins, among many others.

The company’s ambition with its biotechnological innovations is to produce consumer goods in a different way, without oil, in order to meet consumers’ new societal expectations and the objectives of the energy transition and sustainable development.

To create these innovative processes, METabolic EXplorer relies on a 70-person staff possessing the complementary competencies essential at every step of their development, from the optimization of biochemical catalysts in the laboratory to the industrial validation and production of samples in an industrial demonstration unit in continuous operation.

Based at the Clermont Limagne technology park, near Clermont-Ferrand, METabolic Explorer is listed on Euronext in Paris (Compartment C, METEX) and is included in the CAC Small Index.

Get free financial information on METabolic EXplorer by registering with:
www.metabolic-explorer.com

About the SPI Industrial Projects Company fund

Managed by Bpifrance on behalf of the French State as part of the PIA Future Investments Programme, the purpose of this fund is to enable industrial projects with the best prospects for business and employment in industrial sectors to find support for their development.

The fund acts as a prudent equity investor in project companies with industrialisation projects selected for their growth potential, the industry’s current position and their contribution to environmental and energy transition. It therefore constitutes one of the financial levers of the ‘New Industrial France’.

About Bpifrance

Bpifrance offers to businesses a large range of financing opportunities at each key step of their development through loans, guarantees and equity investments. Bpifrance provides support to their innovation projects and to their international expansion.  Bpifrance also accompanies firms developing export activities. Consulting, university, networking and acceleration program for startups, SMEs and midcaps are also part of the offer to entrepreneurs.

With Bpifrance and its 48 regional offices, businesses benefit from a powerful, efficient and close representative, to answer all their needs in terms of financing, innovation and investment.

For more information: www.bpifrance.fr – https://presse.bpifrance.fr/ Follow us on Twitter: @Bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse

About the PIA Future Investments Programme

The PIA Future Investments Programme has been endowed with a total of 47 billion euros. Since 2010, more than 36 billion euros of this total have been invested in six major strategic areas for France and its future:

• Higher education and training
• Research and implementation
• Industrial modernisation
• Sustainable development
• Digital economy