Outcomes
Chemicals without the carbon cost
CarboNcare is developing a new generation of microbial production platforms capable of converting renewable methanol into valuable chemical building blocks.
To demonstrate the potential of this approach, the project focuses on three industrially relevant molecules.
These demonstrators will validate the CarboNcare concept while providing insights into future commercial applications of renewable carbon manufacturing.
The products we’re targeting
Our bacterial platform is designed to produce three chemical intermediates with enormous market relevance
Lactate
Widely used in food preservation, pharmaceutical formulations, cosmetics, and the production of polylactic acid (PLA), one of the most important bioplastics.
Succinate
An important platform chemical used in biodegradable plastics, resins, solvents, and specialty chemicals
2,3-Butanediol
Used in cosmetics, synthetic rubber production, fuel additives, and as a precursor for several industrial chemicals
Beyond individual products
The true innovation of CarboNcare lies not in a single molecule, but in the platform itself.
The project aims to demonstrate that renewable methanol can be transformed into valuable chemicals using stable, growth-coupled production systems designed for continuous operation.
If successful, the same principles could be extended to a much broader range of products in the future.
Technology demonstration
CarbonCare is advancing its concepts beyond laboratory proof-of-principle towards integrated technology validation.
By the end of the project, the consortium aims to demonstrate growth-coupled methanol bioproduction in laboratory-scale bioreactors operating under continuous cultivation conditions for at least 20 days with stable production performance.
These demonstrations will provide evidence for the stability, carbon efficiency, and robustness of the CarbonCare platform in a representative bioprocess environment.
While CarbonCare is not developing a commercial production system, the project will establish a strong foundation for future scale-up and industrial deployment.
Technology readiness
TRL 4 laboratory validation
Continuous cultivation for ≥20 days
Bench-scale bioreactors up to 19 L
Environmental assessment (LCA)
Techno-economic assessment (TEA)
Roadmap towards industrial deployment