Priority to research

As the research and development centre of cereal, sugar and Lucerne cooperatives in Champagne-Ardenne, ARD draws together 76 researchers and aims to find
non-alimentary uses for the agricultural resources of its shareholders. “We develop competitive and innovative products using the renewable carbon of plants: this is what is called vegetal refinery,” explains Yvon Le Hénaff, Managing Director of ARD. The centre develops white biotechnology that allows chemical products to be obtained by transforming vegetal matter, through the action of micro-organisms (enzymes or bacteria). Thanks to the variety of its applications and its renewable and economical nature, white biotechnology is setting itself up as a rival to traditional petrochemistry. ARD was initially behind the perfecting of the Cristanol project, a first-generation bio-ethanol production process using a mixture of beetroot and wheat. For Yvon Le Hénaff, bio-fuels are sometimes wrongly criticised: “This usage puts surplus produce to work and half of the used wheat is recuperated as livestock feed.”
France is now supporting the second generation of bio-fuels, through an ambitious research and development project which benefits from financing from Oséo (the French body that supports SMEs) and whose partners include the Institut
National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP), Lesaffre and ARD, first-generation industrial players (BENP Lillebonne, Champagne Céréales), the Total group, financial partners (CGB, CIRCA Nord-Est, Unigrains) and the Office National des Forêts, all of which are shareholders of the company Procethol 2G created for this purpose. “This generation of bio-fuels will make use of the whole plant, including vegetal residue, as well as plants whose biomass has non-alimentary uses,” points out Yvon Le Hénaff. A pilot unit will be constructed on the ARD site at the end of 2008.
The market for organic cosmetics is still awaiting large-scale development. The company Soliance, a subsidiary of ARD, uses the plant-based cosmetic ingredients developed notably by biotechnology. Two leading ingredients have led to the success of Soliance: hyaluronic acid, a hydrating agent, and DHA, a tanning agent. Soliance has in fact become the world’s second major producer of tanning products. “Our added value is our ability to take a laboratory concept and make it into an industrial process,” adds Yvon Le Hénaff.
ARD has also developed the production of emulsifiers and detergents for industry, notably the cosmetic industry. “This project stems from research on the uses of cereal co-products. Together with the chemical company Oleo, we have set up the company Wheatoleo, in charge of producing and marketing plant-based products,” says Yvon Le Hénaff.
On top of this, ARD has a created a partnership with industrial players in the chemical industry to produce molecules via biotechnology. One of these products stands out in particular: succinic acid, whose market represents 2.5 billion euros, and whose varied applications include antifreeze liquids, solvents, pigments, polyesters, synthesis intermediaries, softeners, etc. For this project, ARD has set up, along with the American DNP Green Technology, the joint venture Bio-Amber, which will market the developed production technology. “Succinic acid can be produced from a large number of primary materials, at reduced production costs. This represents a reliable economical and ecological alternative. We are thus positioning ourselves as partners of actors in the chemical industry by bringing them our expertise,” explains Yvon Le Hénaff. 20 million euros will be set outside by ARD for the construction on its site, in 2009, of an industrial biotechnology demonstration unit, expected to produce a few thousand tons of succinic acid per year. “Apart from the validation of industrial processes, this will allow industrialists to carry out tests on site, helping to convince them to take the step towards innovation,” concludes Yvon Le Hénaff. A new asset that will no doubt reinforce the role of ARD as a leading research centre for white technology.