ZymoChem, Los Alamos National Laboratory Enter Agreement to Advance Bio-Based Adipic Acid
Rejuvenated new collaboration administered through the Agile BioFoundry, accelerates strain engineering in ZymoChem’s carbon-conserving pathway to bio-based nylon
ZymoChem announced a new research agreement with the U.S. Government and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy, to advance a key precursor to bio-nylon 6,6.
San Leandro, Calif., Sep. 21, 2026 - ZymoChem, the biotechnology company dedicated to decarbonizing the chemical industry through innovative biological manufacturing, today announced a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Government and the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The agreement, administered through the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), will advance ZymoChem’s development of bio-based adipic acid, a key precursor to bio-nylon 6,6.
Under the agreement, ZymoChem and LANL will collaborate on metabolic engineering of E. coli to produce adipic acid in economically feasible quantities and rates. ZymoChem’s proprietary carbon-conserving pathways are designed to maximize theoretical yield, and the collaboration will focus on improving the titer and rate of production, two factors critical to commercial viability at scale. LANL will apply technologies developed through the Agile BioFoundry, including biosensor adaptation, enzyme engineering, and adaptive laboratory evolution, to help accelerate strain engineering breakthroughs that will bring bio-adipic acid to commercial-scale production.
“This collaboration with Los Alamos gives us direct access to expansive, national lab expertise and high-throughput screening capabilities which are incredibly sought after,” said Harshal Chokhawala, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of ZymoChem. “Adipic acid is a critical building block for bio-based nylon, and optimizing the strain is essential to bringing this material to market at scale. We are grateful for the DOE’s continued support of that work.”
A Strategic Collaboration to Accelerate Development
Over the course of the twelve-month agreement, the two organizations will work through three technical phases: adapting an adipic acid biosensor for use in E. coli, applying that biosensor to high-throughput strain evolution, and engineering a key bottleneck enzyme for improved stability and catalytic efficiency. The work will conclude with a final report documenting results against ZymoChem’s titer, rate, and yield targets.
“Adipic acid sits at the foundation of an enormous range of everyday materials, from apparel to industrial plastics, so a breakthrough in how it is produced does not stay contained to one industry,” said Ramesh Jha, Scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. "With our optimization efforts, the impact of bio-based adipic acid could be seen in an exciting variety of use cases.”
The CRADA is funded through a combination of DOE support, provided through LANL’s contract with DOE/NNSA, and an in-kind contribution from ZymoChem.
Why It Matters
Adipic acid is one of the most widely used chemical building blocks in the world, and it is produced almost entirely from petroleum today. A commercially viable bio-based route would give apparel, textile, and materials companies, including partners such as lululemon, a scalable path to lower-carbon nylon without compromising performance. This agreement builds on ZymoChem’s history of collaboration with U.S. national laboratories, including its prior work with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory through the Agile BioFoundry, and reflects the DOE’s continued investment in advancing the domestic bioeconomy.
This article is approved for Los Alamos Unlimited Release under LA-UR-26-28117
To learn about other collaborations that ZymoChem has with the U.S. Government, please review additional announcements found at www.zymochem.com/news.