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Verbio is marking its entry into the large-scale production of bio-based chemicals with a strategic investment of nearly EUR 100 million. The company has officially commissioned the world’s first industrial-scale ethenolysis plant based on rapeseed methyl ester at its site in Bitterfeld, Germany. This pioneering facility is designed to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of bio-based chemicals annually—high-grade renewable carbon compounds capable of substituting fossil-based raw materials in the manufacturing of lubricants, detergents, cleaning products, and plastics.
Through this investment, Verbio is diversifying its business model beyond the traditional biofuels sector. Moving forward, the rapeseed methyl ester produced at the Bitterfeld site will serve a dual purpose: as a source of energy in the form of biodiesel and as a premium raw material for high-value chemical production. This transition allows Verbio to access an additional sales market for a raw material the company already manufactures in significant volumes.
'With this new production plant, we are adding another stage to our biorefinery’s value chain, building upon an established raw material base,' stated Verbio CEO Claus Sauter. He emphasized that processing European rapeseed oil strengthens regional agriculture and mitigates reliance on volatile global supply chains, which is essential for Germany’s industrial stability. This flagship project in bio-based chemicals is further supported by the company's groundbreaking for catalyst production at its Hungarian subsidiary, XiMo.
Dorothee Bär, German Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space, hailed the plant as a sign of the European chemical industry's future viability. She noted that producing lubricants and plastics from biomass rather than crude oil provides a critical solution to fossil fuel dependency. Michael Carus, Senior Advisor at the nova-Institute, added during a press conference that Europe's competitive edge lies in renewable carbon and that scaling such solutions to industrial levels is vital for resilient chemical production.
Technologically, the plant utilizes ethenolysis, a specific form of olefin metathesis, a process for which the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in 2005. Special catalysts developed by XiMo enable the precise conversion of rapeseed methyl ester into new chemical molecules like 1-decene and 9-DAME. The project, which received funding via the 'Improvement of the Regional Economic Structure' (GRW) scheme, is expected to create 50 new jobs at the Bitterfeld-Wolfen Chemical Park, bringing Verbio's total local workforce to approximately 130.
Source: Chemeurope