Biotechnology for a growth market

Evonik Industries produces amino acids at these sites. We are the only company in the world to produce and market all four of the key amino acids. These make an important contribution to efficient and eco-friendly nutrition of livestock. Amino acids and related substances are also needed in the pharmaceutical industry, for example, for IV solutions.

Development of Eastern Europe as an industrial location

The four key amino acids for advanced animal nutrition are DL-methionine, L-lysine (Biolys®), L-threonine, and L-tryptophan. To meet increasing demand, we started up a threonine plant with a total annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons in Kaba, Hungary, in 2007. In the same year, a new production plant for the amino acid L-tryptophan was started up in Slovenska L’upča, Slovakia. With these investments in expansion of production capacities, Evonik has paved the way for sustainable growth in Eastern Europe.

Both production sites remain in close contact with our R&D departments to optimize their production methods continually. We provide a complete service chain based on a globally integrated laboratory network for amino acid analyses.

Healthy feed for healthy animals

Our industrially produced essential amino acids fill a supply gap in animal nutrition. Natural feeds such as wheat and corn are always deficient in one or more amino acids. Broilers fed exclusively with plant proteins develop a deficiency in one amino acid or another. For example, while soy supplies lysine and threonine requirements almost in full, it provides only about 50 percent of the methionine requirement. Such deficiencies can be completely eliminated by using accurately dispensed amounts of the necessary amino acids.

Targeted nutrition for a clean environment

Evonik's industrially produced amino acids help both the industry and the environment, because optimized feeds improve animal nutrition while halving nitrogen load. If additional proteins in the form of conventional soy or fish meal were fed to livestock, the animals would indeed put on more weight— but also excrete more nitrogen. The result would be an increase in the environmental load on groundwater and agricultural land.
The ecological balance sheet for methionine reveals further advantages: An annual consumption of 100,000 metric tons saves one million metric tons of crude oil and 800,000 metric tons of nitrate and ammonia.