Verbio to Launch Groundbreaking Renewable Chemicals Plant in 2026

Verbio is on track to start up its €80–100 million ethenolysis plant in early 2026, producing 32,000 t/y of 9‑DAME and 17,000 t/y of 1‑decene—pioneering renewable specialty chemicals from biodiesel.

LONDON – 10 June 2025 – German renewables giant Verbio is preparing to bring a game-changing renewable chemicals plant online by 2026, leveraging innovative ethenolysis technology to convert rapeseed-based biodiesel into high-value specialty chemicals.

Situated at Verbio’s Bitterfeld chemicals park in Saxony-Anhalt, the €80–100 million plant marks the first commercial-scale ethenolysis facility in the world. Construction is progressing steadily, with major equipment like distillation columns installed and mechanical systems—such as large-scale distillation units—being finalized.

Company representatives, including Marc Siegel, head of specialty chemicals and catalysts, have confirmed the project remains on budget. The facility will produce two primary bio-based chemicals:

• 32,000 tonnes/year of methyl 9‑decenoate (9‑DAME)
  
• 17,000 tonnes/year of 1‑decene
  

These molecules serve as key precursors in multiple industrial applications. 9‑DAME finds use in surfactants, lubricants, solvents, and polymers, while 1‑decene plays a crucial role in high-performance lubricants, coatings, and specialized chemicals.

Siegel highlights that 9‑DAME also offers the potential to substitute palm kernel oil, enabling producers of shampoos and cosmetics to market palm-free and GMO-free formulations—aligning with environmental and supply-chain compliance priorities. He stressed that sustainability is a core driver: many companies see these renewable chemicals as key to reducing carbon footprints and meeting ambitious net-zero targets.

The new facility exemplifies Verbio’s strategic pivot from biofuels to renewable chemicals, reducing its exposure to volatile biofuel markets regulated heavily by policy. Siegel notes that as Germany’s chemical sector navigates current pressures, renewable chemicals offer the blueprint for future resilience—a “new chemical industry” shaped by circular, low-carbon technologies.

Grounded in patented catalyst technology from Verbio’s subsidiary XiMo, the plant harnesses Nobel Prize–winning metathesis chemistry to achieve a significant 70–80% carbon footprint reduction, compared to fossil-derived equivalents.

With the facility slated to open in early 2026, Verbio is positioning itself at the forefront of the defossilisation movement—supporting customers’ decarbonisation goals with bio-based feedstocks, reducing reliance on palm oil, and introducing a paradigm shift in Europe’s chemicals industry.