After announcing its €15 million Serie A funding round, the sustainable chemical company GFBiochemicals entered into an agreement with German chemical giant BASF. Specifically, BTC Europe GmbH, BASF’s European distribution organization, and NXTLEVVEL Biochem, a joint venture and manufactoring arm of GFBiochemicals, signed an agreement on the distribution of biobased and biodegradable solvents derived from levulinic acid for the European market.
Levulinic acid can serve as a versatile building block for chemicals and materials derived directly from biomass. Due to their broad solvency power, low volatility, high safety profile and biodegradability levulinate solvents offer a sustainable alternative to solvents based on fossil feedstock for a wide range of applications.
Both companies seek to leverage their expertise and industrial know-how to respond to the high demand for more sustainable and low-emission products on the European market and enable customers to make more environmentally friendly decisions in their procurement and development processes. Through the cooperation, customers will have access to resource-efficient solutions derived from non-food crop biomass with which they can reduce their carbon footprint and secure long-term sustainable competitive advantages.
“Enriching our portfolio with complementary, sustainable and resource-efficient solutions is a core pillar of our strategy. The cooperation with NXTLEVVEL Biochem will create new opportunities for future growth and strengthen our position in the European distribution business,” said Jose Corral Montilla, Managing Director at BTC Europe GmbH. “Building on the enhanced portfolio, we will offer our customers solutions based on circular feedstock that help to meet fast changing market requirements and that in turn create added value for our customers’ customers,” added Montilla.
“BASF’s European distribution organization – stated Mathieu Flamini, CEO of GFBiochemicals – is a pioneer in the industry. This is a huge step towards Europe becoming a leader in the sustainable chemicals market. By working with BTC Europe to add plant-based, biodegradable solvents to their large range of products, we are accelerating our mission of ending chemical pollution and helping companies to adapt to a future based on biodegradable chemicals derived from biomass”.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 