By ANNA HIRTENSTEIN

Renmatix, a US maker of technology for cellulosic biomaterials, will develop its first commercial biorefinerynext year.

The refinery will be commissioned by one of the company’s undisclosed partners and will be in the Americas,Europe or Asia, according to Duncan Cross, vice president of corporate development. It will produce between 100,000 tons to 300,000 tons of sugars annually.

Renmatix’s technology uses high-pressure steam to break wood chips and other biomass into sugars that can be made into materials such as bioplastics and biofuels. Inedible crops are more difficult to refine than their edible counterparts such as corn and sugar cane because they have tougher fibers.

Biomaterials seek to replace petrochemicals. Investment for the sector has dried up as the price of oil has fallen, sliding to less than $1.5 billion in 2015 from a peak of $2.5 billion in 2012, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“The low oil prices don’t really matter to us,” Cross said. “We can compete with $50 oil. We could even compete with $30 oil if we develop higher-value applications for our lignin,” said Cross, referring to a wood product he produces that can be used in adhesives.

Renmatix is developing new uses for it such as carbon fiber and thermal plastics for the automotive industry such as in car seats.

The company has partnered with French energy giant Total and BASF, the world’s largest chemical company. It’s in talks with Coca-Cola Co. to help make a bioplastic for its beverage bottles from inedible plants. The drinks company’s current “PlantBottle” is made from sugar cane.

It is also in discussions with “market leaders” in chemical manufacturing and consumer-packaged goods and would be interested in partnering with Ikea Group, since the Swedish furniture giant produces a lot of waste wood.

Renmatix counts John Doerr, a venture capitalist that has invested in Amazon.com, Google and Twitter, among its backers.