PRESS RELEASE
1-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8246 Japan

April 13, 2021

New Technology Developed Jointly with RIKEN and Yokohama Rubber for Producing
Biomass-Derived Butadiene
Successful Creation of Cells with Excellent Butadiene-Producing Capability Based on a New Artificial
Metabolic Pathway and Enzyme

Zeon Corporation (president: Kimiaki Tanaka) has developed the world’s first technology that efficiently
produces butadiene from biomass (biotic resources), under a collaborative research project with RIKEN andYokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. and at the Bio-monomer Production Laboratory. Butadiene is a raw material forsynthetic rubbers used mainly for automobile tires, and industrial butadiene is produced as a byproduct ofnaphtha pyrolysis. The new technology will reduce future dependence on petroleum and contribute toreducing carbon dioxide (CO2), which is associated with climate change.
Zeon has participated in joint research with RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) and Yokohama
Rubber since 2013 with the aim of developing a technology that can produce monomer (a raw material of syntheticrubbers) from biomass. Additionally, the Bio-monomer Production Laboratory was established under RIKEN’s Integrated
Collaborative Research Program with Industry in April 2020 to accelerate research on the practical implementation of thetechnology. The laboratory has been advancing its research by integrating the respective expertise and technologies of
its team to develop enzymes with high productivity and establish an efficient purification technology.
In this latest development, the team was able to produce cells with excellent butadiene-producing capability based on thecreation of a new artificial metabolic pathway and enzyme. This made it possible to develop a process that involves
muconic acid* produced through microbial synthesis as an intermediate. In addition, the new process is also expected tosignificantly reduce the cost of the fermentative production of butadiene by incorporating knowledge the laboratory has
gained during its prior development of enzymes.
The results of the joint research have been published in Nature Communications, a London-based online journal ofresearch papers from the biology, chemistry, and other academic fields.
The Bio-monomer Production Laboratory also became the first in the world in 2018 to produce isoprene, another raw
material for synthetic rubbers, by designing a new artificial metabolic pathway and creating highly active enzymes for theproduction of cells with excellent isoprene-synthesizing capability. The team achieved in-vivo creation of isoprene from abiomass (sugar) as the starting material.
The Zeon Group will continue to engage in research that transcends the boundaries of industry, government, andacademia to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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PRESS RELEASE
1-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8246 Japan*An unsaturated dicarboxylic acid expressed by the rational formula(HOOC)CH=CH-CH=CH(COOH). Exists in three isomeric forms: trans,trans-muconic
acid, cis,trans-muconic acid, and cis,cis-muconic acid. This research used
cis,cis-muconic acid, produced from the enzymatic degradation of various aromatic
chemical compounds by certain types of bacteria.

Butadiene rubber polymerizedwith the new technology

Butadiene rubber polymerizedwith the new technology

For further information, contact:
Zeon Corporation, Department of Corporate Communications
Phone: +81-3-3216-2747

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