• Successful industrial scale-up of the PDO/BA technology at the METEX NØØVISTA plant
• Delivery in June of industrial and cosmetics grades
• Validation of METEX’s capacity to implement its ALTANØØV^TM technologies on an industrial scale

 Clermont-Ferrand, 16 June 2021 – (FR0004177046 METEX), METabolic EXplorer (METEX), a specialist in the design, development, industrialization and sale of environmentally responsible bioprocesses to produce functional ingredients, announces the successful industrial scale-up of the PDO-BA technology and the start-up of industrial-scale production of PDO for industrial and cosmetics applications at the production unit of its subsidiary METEX NØØVISTA at Carling Saint-Avold in the Moselle.

Benjamin GONZALEZ, chairman and CEO of METEX, states: “Credit for the success of this step goes to the METEX and METEX NØØVISTA teams, who have transformed an innovative technology into an industrial reality. We are very pleased to have been able to honor our commitments and make the first deliveries of PDO to the partners and clients who have shown their confidence in us from the start. This step forward is in line with our ambition of becoming a leading industrial and commercial player thanks to innovations for the production of functional ingredients by fermentation.”

Following the validation of the fermentation technology at 100% capacity upstream, an operational threshold of 30% of nominal purification capacity was set downstream. These procedures allowed validation of each stage of the purification technology in relation to the effluent discharge limits and the transfer of knowledge from the METEX technical teams to the METEX NØØVISTA teams. The priority of producing PDO in compliance with industrial and cosmetics grade specifications has now been achieved.

Less than two months after the start-up of production, the first commercial batches of industrial grade PDO were produced. The first deliveries were made to meet commitments to the partners and clients who have shown their confidence in us from the start, including COVESTRO and VAUDE, two companies that use METEX PDO in bio-based polymer applications to manufacture the soles of athletic shoes.

Clément Affholder, Innovation Manager at VAUDE GmbH, says: « The PDO METEX Propanediol is an important building block to help us reduce our dependency on fossil resources. With the compound based on PDO Metex Propanediol, we bring our first biobased outdoor shoe without having to compromise on functionality. METEX also offers us the possibility to have transparency and reliability on the feedstock which are being used in our products which is paramount to keep the trust our customers have in our brand.”

With the increased performance of the purification process, it was possible to obtain the first commercial batches of cosmetics grade PDO. The first shipment to our partner DSM’s warehouse was made today to serve customers.

Rishabh Pande, VP Marketing & Innovation Personal Care at DSM, says: “DSM PCA is very happy with the news of the first successful industrial scale batches of cosmetic grade PDO coming from the Carling site and congratulates the METEX NØØVISTA team on this milestone. We looks forward to commencing supplies of TILAMAR® PDO with NØØVISTA™ to our customers across the world and to adding this sustainable, multifunctional ingredient into the growing portfolio of our Technical & Performance ingredients.“

Along with the production of two grades of PDO, the butyric acid purification line and the effluents treatment unit went into operation. Once the stationary capacity of the purification line is reached in the coming weeks, production will progressively increase to 100% of nominal capacity.

This initial success demonstrates METEX’s ability to develop fermentation processes that can be extrapolated to and implemented on an industrial scale. The experience acquired by the teams at the Carling Saint-Avold platform in Moselle will be an additional asset for the upcoming industrialization of glycolic acid production and, more generally, of all the ALTANØØV^TM technologies developed by METEX.

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About METEX NØØVISTA www.metex-noovista.com

Created in 2018, METEX NØØVISTA is a joint venture between METEX, the majority shareholder, and the Société de Projets Industriels (SPI), an investment fund underwritten by the Programme d’Investissements d’Avenir and the European Investment Bank and managed by Bpifrance. This joint venture has an annual production and sales capacity of 5,000 tons of PDO (1,3 Propanediol) and 1,000 tons of BA (butyric acid) for markets such as cosmetics, animal nutrition, flavors and fragrances, and biopolymers.

Local stakeholders, both public and private, including the French state, the European Union, the Région Grand-Est, the local authority CASAS (Communauté d’Agglomération de St-Avold Synergie), the CGET, the ADEME, the Agence de l’eau, and the TOTAL group, have contributed to the financing of this industrial undertaking.

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About METabolic EXplorer – www.metabolic-explorer.com

Using renewable raw materials, the company develops and industrialises innovative and competitive industrial fermentation processes as alternative to petrochemical processes to meet consumers’ new societal expectations and the objectives of the energy transition. Its functional ingredients of natural origin are used in the formulation of cosmetic products, nutrition-animal health or as intermediates for the synthesis of biomaterials.

The METEX NØØVISTA production unit, located in Carling (Moselle), allows the METEX Group to bring 1.3 propanediol (PDO) and butyric acid (BA) on the market.

The acquisition of AANE, which has become METEX NØØVISTAGO, the leading European producer of amino acids for animal nutrition, enables the METEX Group to realize its ambition to become one of the world market leaders in functional ingredients produced by fermentation.

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.

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www.metabolic-explorer.com

Investor relations – ACTIFIN –
Benjamin LEHARI
Tél : + 33 (0) 1 56 88 11 11
mail : blehari@actifin.fr

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