Author: Il Bioeconomista

The conclusion of the Versalis deal is near: the final decision in late May, early June

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Claudio De Scalzi, Ceo of Eni. Source: www.eni.com
Claudio De Scalzi, Ceo of Eni. Source: http://www.eni.com

The conclusion of the Versalis deal is near. Claudio De Scalzi, Ceo of Eni, told the trade unions the company will decide whether to sell 70% of its chemical division to the US fund SK Capital in late May, early June.

The three main Italian trade unions in the chemical sector have reaffirmed the Ceo of the Italian oil giant their clear opposition to this possibility and asked to seek alternatives; one of these would be the CDP (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti), which is is an Italian bank founded in 1850 and constituted in its current form as a joint-stock company on 12 December 2003: 80.1% of the share capital is owned by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, the 18.4% is held by various banking foundations, while the remaining 1.5% in treasury shares.

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Obama Administration announces $21 million to strengthen the bioeconomy

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Tom Vilsack and Barack Obama

The bioeconomy in the United States of America takes another relevant step forward, investing not only in the development of bioproducts but also in education and training. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday announced the availability of $21 million to support the development of regional systems in sustainable bioenergy and biobased products, as well as education and training for the next generation of scientists that will expand availability of renewable, sustainable goods and energy. This funding is available through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

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Bioeconomy in Transport Decarbonisation: an offer they can’t refuse

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Marlon Brando as don Vito Corleone in The Godfather
Marlon Brando as don Vito Corleone in The Godfather

 

During my ten years at Accenture in Rome my boss always made a point of checking that in our bids for client work we were making them offers they couldn’t refuse. He’d been inspired by Marlon Brando in the Godfather, without the gun parts clearly. Our business grew from 300 to 3000 people.

The guys and gals at the European Commission in Brussels are right now putting the finishing touches to a Communication on Transport Decarbonisation, due out this summer. A Commission Communication is the closest thing there is to an EU law without actually being a law. If it’s any good it will set direction on transport decarbonisation for the next twenty years and go a long way to saving the planet from catastrophic climate change.

by James Cogan*

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The Biofore Tea House: in Beijing the Chinese tea culture meets UPM’s bio-based products

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Biofore Tea House Copyright: UPM
Biofore Tea House Copyright: UPM

UPM, the Finnish forest industry company,  and the Shanghai-based Tongji University College of Design and Innovation started cooperation in 2015 with a target to create a modern concept for the traditional Chinese tea house by using UPM’s innovative wood-based biomaterials. The project has now reached its goal with the introduction of the Biofore Tea House in the ‘Moi Helsinki’ event in Beijing, China on 13-15 May 2016.

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New merger in the US bioeconomy: Aemetis acquires Edeniq

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Eric McAfee, chairman and Ceo of Aemetis

Aemetis and Edeniq, both headquartered in California (USA), announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Aemetis will acquire all of Edeniq’s outstanding shares in a stock plus cash merger transaction.

Edeniq, a leading cellulosic ethanol technology company, has developed patented innovations that unlock cellulosic and starch sugars through a combination of mechanical and biological processes. Its capital light and operationally efficient solutions can be easily integrated into existing corn ethanol plants. The company, founded in 2008, has raised approximately $100 million from some of the world’s leading venture capital firms, including Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Angeleno Group, The Westly Group, I2BF Global Ventures, and other leading investors, as well as US Department of Energy (DOE) grant funding.

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Stora Enso and Rennovia: new agreement for bio-based chemicals development

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Renewable materials company Stora Enso and specialty chemicals company Rennovia have announced a joint development and license agreement to cooperate on bio-based chemicals development.   
 

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An exclusive interview with Mike Hartmann, Executive VP BioAmber

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Mike Hartmann

“We believe that we are at the beginning of an evolution in the chemical industry where man has the ability to replace some chemicals that have been produced via the petro route with the same chemicals now using sugar as their source of carbon instead of fossil fuels”. Mike Hartmann, executive vice president of BioAmber, talks to Il Bioeconomista
BioAmber is a sustainable chemicals company, whose proprietary technology platform combines industrial biotechnology and chemical catalysis to convert renewable feedstock into building block chemicals for use in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, resins, food additives and personal care products. The company, which is one of the main world bioeconomy’s players, has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2013, under the symbol BIOA. And is also listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris exchange, under the same symbol. BioAmber is a Delaware corporation with a head office in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a research facility in Plymouth (Minneapolis), Minnesota, and a commercial plant operating in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Its investors include Sofinnova Partners (France), Naxos Capital Partners (Luxemburg), Mitsui & Co. (Japan), Lanxess (Germany) and the Cliffton Group (Canada).

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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The Dutch bioeconomy takes another step forward thanks to AkzoNobel and Royal Cosun

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AkzoNobel Center in the Netherlands
AkzoNobel Center in the Netherlands

The bioeconomy in the Netherlands takes another step forward, bringing together industry and agriculture. AkzoNobel, Dutch leading global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals, and agro-industrial cooperative Royal Cosun have formed a new partnership to develop novel products from cellulose side streams resulting from sugar beet processing.

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Edilon)(sedra develops biopolymers for elastic rail fastening systems

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Edilon)(sedra, Dutch international supplier of rail track systems, insulating rail systems and noise and vibration reduction systems, in cooperation with Wageningen UR and British speciality chemicals company Croda, is working on the development of next generation polymers for elastic rail fastening systems. The goal of the project is to develop environmentally-friendly bio-based polymers which cure into an elastic rubber-like compound within a limited time.

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Gianluca Carenzo, Science Park of Lodi: A carbon tax to support the bioeconomy in the EU

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Gianluca Carenzo

Bioeconomy, agro-food, start-ups and Expo Milan 2015. These are the issues that Il Bioeconomista faces in this interview with Gianluca Carenzo, director general of the Science Park of Lodi and president of Apsti, the Association of Italian Science Parks. 

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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