Verde Biomaterials has completed a major scale-up of its biomaterials process. The company moved from lab-scale trials to pilot-scale production over the past several months.
The process started at the bench. Researchers used just 20 grams of agricultural residue biomass. From there, the team scaled up to 10 litres, using 500 grams of biomass. Most recently, they reached 210 litres and 10 kilograms of biomass.
That marks a 500-fold increase in throughput from the original lab scale. Product yields stayed consistent across all three stages.
The scale-up work was carried out with the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) and the Advanced BioProcess Development Unit (ABPDU) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The partnership gave Verde access to specialised equipment and infrastructure. It also provided scale-up expertise that the company did not have in-house.
Scaling a materials process involves more than building a bigger reactor. Consistent yields across scales demonstrate reproducibility. They also show the process can withstand the variability that comes with larger volumes.
Verde said the results support its broader manufacturing strategy. The company is working to reduce technical and operational risk as it moves toward commercial-scale production.
The collaboration involved several researchers from FCIC and ABPDU, including Ning Sun, Chang Dou, Asun Oka and Tyrell Lewis. Verde credited the wider team for supporting the effort.
The company plans to continue building on this progress. Further scale-up milestones are expected as Verde works toward full commercial production.
Verde Biomaterials develops materials from agricultural residue biomass. The company is focused on de-risking its manufacturing process ahead of larger-scale deployment.
