PRESS RELEASE
CIRCA SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH GAZELENERGIE TO CREATE INDUSTRIAL-SCALE PLANT PRODUCING RENEWABLE SOLVENT CYRENETM
OSLO, NORWAY – 22 September 2021 – Biotechnology company Circa Group has signed a new agreement with energy producer GazelEnergie to repurpose a former coal-fired power plant site as part of Flagship EU project ReSolute.
Circa is the recipient of an EU Horizon 2020 Flagship Grant, in part to fund the design, commissioning and operation of the ReSolute plant. Circa also leads the ReSolute project, which is focused on creating a new, sustainably-sourced, safer alternative to traditional, fossil-based solvents.
GazelEnergie is the owner of the Emile Huchet coal-fired power station site, adjacent to the Carling Saint-Avold platform and Total Chemesis Composite Park, in north-eastern France. The company has plans for green reindustrialisation of the site, with renewable heat production and a green hydrogen production project, which attract partners like Circa.
Circa’s FuracellTM process converts non-food biomass waste into advanced bio-based chemicals, including renewable solvent CyreneTM which can replace traditional, toxic, fossil-based solvents such as NMP, DMF, DCM and DMSO. The ReSolute plant will manufacture CyreneTM at industrial scale and is scheduled to be commissioned in the first half of 2023.
Jean-Michel Mazalerat, President of GazelEnergie, said: "The establishment of the ReSolute plant on the site of the Emile Huchet coal-fired power station is a strong signal for the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the region's industry. It is a firm expression of our strategy to turn the page on coal by redeveloping the site with green projects that will create jobs."
Tony Duncan, CEO and co-founder of Circa Group, said, "This milestone shows that we are on track with our growth trajectory. The timetable for bringing the ReSolute plant online is ambitious and the Carling site offers us the amenities we need. The repurposing of a former coal-fired power plant site into green chemistry is consistent with Circa's perception of a circular green economy with safer and more sustainable products for the planet."
About Circa
Established in 2006, Circa Group converts waste, non-food biomass into advanced bio-based chemicals with its proprietary Furacell™ process. Its developing product portfolio includes flavours, biopolymers, and bio-solvents including Cyrene™, an alternative to traditional polar aprotic solvents, which is produced in one step from platform biomolecule Levoglucosenone. By creating novel and replacement chemicals from renewable feedstocks, Circa is both extracting value from non-food, waste biomass, and addressing growing market demands for bio-based alternatives that are driving a more sustainable economy. In March 2021, Circa Group successfully listed on the Euronext Growth Market in Oslo, stock symbol CIRCA.
https://circa-group.com/
About GazelEnergie
EPH is the sixth largest energy company in Europe. It is a Czech group specialising in the production and distribution of electricity, gas and heat and operates in eight European countries. In France, EPH acquired the Uniper France group, now EP France, in July 2019. EP France owns GazelEnergie Generation. GazelEnergie Generation operates coal-fired power generation facilities that are due to be closed by 2022 at the latest and concerns its two sites of Emile Huchet in Saint-Avold (57) and Provence in Gardanne (13). At the latter site, GazelEnergie Generation also operates a 150MW biomass electricity production facility. The group intends to reindustrialise these two sites and to turn them resolutely towards the production of green energy. EP France also operates six onshore wind farms and two photovoltaic plants.
Media Contact
Bárbara Mendes-Jorge
Sustainability Consult
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