UPM acquires Ray Technology® intellectual property from Avantium, broadening its bio-based glycols IP portfolio

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UPM has reached an agreement with Avantium N.V. to acquire the intellectual property related to Avantium’s Ray Technology®, a process for the production of bio-based mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and mono-propylene glycol (MPG) from plant-based sugars. The transaction comprises Avantium’s patent portfolio and invention disclosures related to Ray Technology® and is for UPM not material in financial terms. The strategic value lies in the expansion of UPM’s intellectual property position across the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bio-based glycols.

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P2 Science Closes $23 Million Round to Accelerate Commercial Momentum and Expand Green Chemistry Platform into New Markets

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P2 Science, Inc., a leading green chemistry company transforming sustainable feedstocks into high-performance ingredients, announced the close of an oversubscribed $23 million up round led by Sofinnova Partners. Sofinnova is a leading European life sciences venture capital firm based in Paris, London, and Milan. The financing will accelerate P2’s commercial growth in beauty and personal care ingredients and expand the company’s green chemistry platform into new markets, including aroma technologies, performance polymers, home care, coatings, and crop care.

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Bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean: a generation seeking to transform science into rural profitability

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There is a new generation of rural entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean that no longer talks only about producing more food. They naturally think in terms of biomass, traceability, bioinputs, carbon capture, biodiversity, and circular economy. For them, transforming agricultural waste into energy, tracking a product’s journey from the field to the consumer, or developing microorganisms that improve crops is no longer a futuristic or academic concept: it is beginning to form part of a new way of thinking about businesses linked to agriculture and rural territories.

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Stora Enso introduces Bergslagets Skogar as the new name for its Swedish forest asset company

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Stora Enso paper mill in Hyltebruk (Sweden)

Stora Enso launched Bergslagets Skogar as the new name of its Swedish forest asset company. The announcement marks an important step in Stora Enso’s preparations to separate its Swedish forest assets into a standalone listed company, subject to relevant approvals. Bergslagets Skogar represents Stora Enso’s Swedish forest asset entity, comprising long term, sustainably managed forest land with a history of active ownership extending back to year 1288. The name reflects both the historical footprints in the old Copper Mine in Falun and a long term approach to value creation, where planning horizons extend across generations.

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BioInvestIT: today in Milan 8 innovative bioeconomy startups meet international investors

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Milano is hosting today the third edition of BioInvestIT, the key investment forum for circular bioeconomy organized by Italian Circular Bioeconomy Spring together with the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) and Bio4Dreams and the support of TerraNext, LCA and Bioinvest Europe. The event brings together innovative businesses and projects seeking capital with financial and corporate investors from all over Europe. 

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BRIGHT and LanzaTech launch new partnership to accelerate carbon-to-value biotechnology in Europe

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Jennifer Holmgren, CEO LanzaTech, at IFIB 2019 in Naples

BRIGHT, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and LanzaTech Global, Inc., a global leader in gas fermentation, have entered a multi-year agreement to accelerate development of technologies that convert carbon emissions into valuable products.

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EESC: “The EU needs a strong and coherent bioeconomy strategy”

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The EU needs a strong and coherent bioeconomy strategy grounded in strict sustainability safeguards, circular design, and reduced resource use, ensuring competitiveness and climate goals remain within planetary boundaries. It must also clearly define the societal value of the bioeconomy. In its opinion, ‘EU Bioeconomy Strategy: Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy’, adopted on 29 April, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) emphasised that Europe is a resource-constrained and highly import-dependent continent. It relies on fossil fuels and raw materials in an increasingly tense geopolitical situation. At the same time, overexploitation of natural resources is one of the main causes of ongoing biodiversity loss.

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Bangladesh secures support for Asia-Pacific bioeconomy transition

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A Bangladesh-sponsored resolution on sustainable bioeconomy has been adopted by consensus at the 82nd session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The resolution, titled “Supporting the transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy in countries in Asia and the Pacific”, reflects strong support from member states across the region, according to a press release issued by the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok.

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Europe’s new platform to help unlock funding for a bio-based future

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Berlaymont, European Commission’s Headquarter in Brussels

A new Bioeconomy Investment Group is being set up to help Europe’s sustainable industries secure the funding they need to grow. The group aims to reduce financial risks for investors, create clear funding standards, and bring together public and private money. Despite already supporting 17 million jobs and generating up to €2.7 trillion in economic value, many innovative bio-based projects struggle to secure financing at critical stages, such as moving from small-scale testing to full industrial production. This funding gap risks holding back Europe’s ability to turn scientific breakthroughs in biotechnology and sustainable materials into real-world industries.  

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An interview with Philippe Mengal, executive director of BIC. “The bioeconomy is not just about replacing fossil carbon. It is about redefining Europe’s place in the global economy.

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“The real question is where Europe can lead. To answer that, we need a sharper understanding of end markets and stronger market-pull policies to drive uptake of bio-based products. Scaling innovation requires demand, and demand must be actively supported through policy. Ultimately, the bioeconomy is not just about replacing fossil carbon. It is about redefining Europe’s place in the global economy.” To say this – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Philippe Mengal, the new executive director of BIC (Biobased Industries Consortium).

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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