Majority of Chemical Companies Want to Reduce Dependence on Oil, Finds Survey by...

Majority of Chemical Companies Want to Reduce Dependence on Oil, Finds Survey
by ICIS and Genomatica

Chemical Customers Already Asking For Sustainably Produced Chemicals

SAN DIEGO and LONDON, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Genomatica Inc., a sustainable
chemical company, today unveiled the results of a survey conducted with ICIS,
the chemical and energy market intelligence firm, finding that 57 percent of
chemical industry respondents believe their companies should reduce exposure
to the petroleum-based commodity market. The same majority reported their
customers were already inquiring about the availability of sustainably
produced chemicals.

Even during a period of contracted demand that has tested the viability of
some chemical firms, respondents overwhelmingly identified the environmental
qualities of their end products and the carbon footprint of the processes that
make their products as equally important measures of sustainability.
Forty-seven percent recognize an economic advantage to switching chemical
manufacturing process inputs to renewable feedstocks.

"It is clear that all of the stakeholders in our industry, including
executives, employees, and most importantly the customers, are demanding
sustainably produced chemicals to play a major role in the industry going
forward," said Christophe Schilling, chief executive officer of Genomatica.
"Diversifying the feedstock base of the industry and reducing the reliance on
hydrocarbons makes sense now more than ever, particularly if doing so delivers
the benefits of improved economics and environmental stewardship."

Predictably, chemical companies are in survival mode, citing raw material
pricing, sourcing, and strategic cost reductions as the most significant
short-term priorities. Yet even in today's challenging environment, 80 percent
of chemical professionals cite sustainable chemistry as a priority for
long-term survival, and 71 percent believe their company should be a green
front-runner. Overall, the survey found that six in 10 companies are already
engaged with sustainable chemical practices, and nearly all of these chemical
companies (93 percent) are maintaining such programs during the economic
downturn.

"ICIS has recognized a growing interest in sustainable chemistry among its
members, even as critical pressures like materials pricing, staff reductions
and cash flow intensify," said John Baker, global editor for the ICIS custom
publishing unit. "The survey shows that executives understand limiting their
company to oil-based solutions is not a long-term strategy."

Over 86 percent of respondents believe that it would take less than 10 years
from the time a sustainable chemical development program was launched to the
time when the process would be commercial, with nearly equal numbers believing
it would take less than five years versus taking 5-10 years. This is
consistent with the current development programs and commercialization
timelines that Genomatica is aiming for with its process technologies,
including its breakthrough process for the direct production of 1,4-butanediol
from sugar.

Nearly half of the respondents claim to have already incorporated a renewable
feedstock into a chemical manufacturing process. Of that number, the most
commonly used alternative inputs include sugar or other carbohydrates as well
as plant biomass. Despite current use of these renewable feedstocks in some
processes, the greatest reservation cited about using a sustainable chemical
process is the availability and pricing of the feedstock. Of less concern was
the need to invest in new facilities, the quality of the chemical produced,
and predictable scalability of the process (in that order).

"Whether it is a petrochemical process or a bio-based process, the sourcing
and pricing of the feedstock is a central component to ensure attractive
financial returns," added Schilling. "Unlike corn, sugar is an example of a
renewable feedstock that has stable pricing due to the elasticity of supply.
The sugar market has an established infrastructure and global supply chains
that also make it a suitable feedstock. Ultimately, other lower cost renewable
feedstocks such as cellulosic biomass should also become accessible on a wider
scale to produce chemicals, building on the significant efforts currently
underway to unlock this as a feedstock source for fuels."

Nearly half (47 percent) of the respondents described sustainable chemical
programs as a company-wide priority - not just the purview of marketing,
management or certain business units. BASF, Dow and DuPont were cited as the
most recognizable companies involved in sustainable chemical practices.

"As the first official survey devoted to sustainable chemical processes, this
research sheds new light on a topic that has been gathering force for years,"
added Baker of ICIS. "Clearly, chemical companies are already engaged with
sustainable programs and view green chemicals as a route to long-term success,
but few understand how practical and achievable sustainable processes are
today."

The survey was completed by over 900 ICIS subscribers and readers working
globally in the petrochemicals, specialty chemicals, and polymers segments of
the chemical industry. The respondents' roles spanned across strategic (at
least 31 percent) and operational (at least 38 percent) functions. Fifteen
percent of respondents were in the CEO, chairman or president role.

About Genomatica
Genomatica is focused on producing sustainable chemicals. Genomatica is
revolutionizing the chemical industry with groundbreaking technologies that
sustainably transform chemical production processes through bio-manufacturing.
Founded in 2000 by research scientists from the University of California at
San Diego, Genomatica develops a broad range of biologically produced
industrial chemicals from a variety of renewable feedstocks at a fraction of
the cost.

A privately held company, Genomatica is backed by top Silicon Valley venture
capital firms Mohr Davidow Ventures, Alloy Ventures and Draper Fisher
Jurvetson. Genomatica is based in San Diego.

About ICIS
ICIS is the world's largest information provider for the chemical and oil
industry. It aims to help companies in global commodity markets improve their
revenues and profits by providing high quality, timely, commercially useful
information, business leads and brand positioning across the globe.

A global team of around 200 people based in London, Houston, Singapore, New
York, Washington, San Francisco, Shanghai, Moscow and Mumbai provides its
members with definitive global chemical intelligence.

ICIS is part of Reed Business Information (RBI), a division of Reed Business
and a member of Reed Elsevier plc (525), (UK:REL) (US:RUK) (NL:45443), the
world's leading publisher and information provider.

SOURCE Genomatica Inc.

Joey Marquart of Genomatica, +1-650-762-2987, fax, +1-858-824-1772,
media@genomatica.com; or John Baker of ICIS, +44 20 8652 3153, fax, +44 20
8652 3929, John.baker@icis.com