On January 27, 2015, BASF left the research and development (R&D) collaboration with Novozymes and Cargill that it had joined in 2012. Novozymes and Cargill have worked to develop a process to produce biobased 3-hydroxypropionic (3-HP) and acrylic acid from renewable materials since 2008. In BASF's absence, the two remaining companies are looking for a third partner for the project. The R&D project has already produced 3-HP in pilot scale and converted 3-HP to glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers. The goal is now to commercialize 3-HP to biobased chemicals in order to bring customers sustainable alternatives to petroleum based chemicals.

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