Amyris and Kuraray expand collaboration in farnesene-based polymers

“Kuraray has been a strong collaboration partner over the last two years, and I welcome our expanding work together in developing and commercializing high performance materials from Biofene," said John Melo, President & CEO of Amyris. “Based on the positive feedback from tyre manufacturers for Liquid Farnesene Rubber, we remain confident that Biofene will play a critical role in improving the sustainability of the tyre industry. We are also encouraged that with Kuraray in Japan we are launching a new category of elastomers made from Biofene,” added Melo.

Under the transaction agreements, the parties have extended the duration of the research and development portion of their collaboration for at least two more years. The parties also reaffirmed their commercialisation goals by expanding types of, and fields of use for, Kuraray polymer products containing Biofene. As detailed in the agreement, Amyris will receive an undisclosed amount of collaboration funding over the next two years, and Kuraray will purchase approximately USD 4 million of Amyris's common stock in April 2014.

“Our joint technical progress in the last two years has been tremendous, and we are optimistic about the commercialisation of farnesene-based polymers with Amyris in the near future and our expanded ongoing collaboration to new polymer products, including viscosity index improvers, sealants, and adhesives,” said Tomoyuki Aya, Senior Executive Officer of Kuraray. “And, as Amyris shares our commitment to develop pioneering technology, I'm pleased that Kuraray has agreed to make a capital investment in Amyris,” Aya added.

Amyris and Kuraray launched their collaboration in 2011 with an initial focus on using Biofene-based polymers to replace petroleum-derived feedstocks in tyres. During this time, Kuraray has developed Biofene-based liquid rubber (LFR) that reacts with tyre rubber more easily than traditional materials and strengthens adhesion of rubber components to improve tyre shape, stability, and performance. Today, leading tyre manufacturers are conducting field, safety and performance tests of Kuraray's Biofene-based liquid rubber in their tyre formulations with a number of these tests nearing conclusion. Also, during this period, Kuraray produced and began customer sampling and product evaluation for a new category of elastomers, Hydrogenated Styrenic Farnesene Copolymer (HSFC), which have shown to have improved flow properties and low residual strain, opening opportunities for vibration dampening product applications.