The European Commission has launched a comprehensive EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, aiming to make the EU the world’s top destination for technology-driven innovative companies. One of the key components of this strategy is the expansion of the European Innovation Council (EIC), which plays a vital role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.
Neste and FedEx, the world’s largest express cargo airline, have agreed on the supply of 8,800 metric tons (more than three million gallons) of blended Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ to FedEx at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is the largest SAF purchase by a U.S. cargo airline at LAX to-date. The fuel blend purchase will account for roughly a fifth of all jet fuel consumed annually by FedEx at LAX.
Avantium, the Dutch company in renewable and circular polymer materials, signed a capacity reservation agreement with BIOVOX, a pioneer in sustainable healthcare plastics. Under this agreement, BIOVOX has committed to using Avantium’s PEF (polyethylene furanoate) in various pharmaceutical applications. This PEF is expected to be produced in a future industrial-scale facility, based on a technology license from Avantium. The multi-year capacity reservation ensures BIOVOX preferred access to PEF volumes produced by Avantium’s future licensee network.
Everything is ready in Catania to host the first edition of the BioINSouth Forum. The Sicilian city will be the Mediterranean capital of bioeconomy from June 4 to June 6, thanks to the forum that will bring together leaders and experts from various sectors and disciplines from South Europe and beyond. They discuss and outline the R&I priorities in bioeconomy, in conjunction with the particularities of the South European regions.
Stora Enso is expanding its core packaging material offering with the launch of Performa Nova, a next-generation folding boxboard (FBB, that combines high yield with exceptional performance. The new board is designed to meet the growing demand for renewable, recyclable, and efficient packaging solutionspa in segments such as dry, frozen, and chilled food, chocolate, and confectionery.
“Europe has exceptional science but struggles with translation. The reasons are structural. First, the financial models commonly used– especially venture capital – are misaligned with the capital intensity and timelines of deep industrial innovation.”. To say it – in this interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Massimo Portincaso, CEO Arsenale Bioyards, the Italy-headquartered company with a proprietary end-to-end platform that makes biomanufacturing via precision fermentation economically viable
at industrial scale – for the very first time.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
DMC Biotechnologies, a leading U.S.-based biomanufacturer, launched fermented myo-inositol. This next-generation ingredient – the company says – is now available for health-focused brands and formulators seeking high-quality, naturally produced, sustainable solutions, with improved supply resilience.
Neste and Finnish company Eckerö Line, which operates ferry services between Helsinki and Tallinn, are continuing their collaboration to reduce maritime emissions. Eckerö Line provides freight and passenger services on the Baltic Sea and is the first company in Finland to adopt Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ for commercial maritime transport. By replacing a part of the fuel it uses for its operations with Neste MY Renewable Diesel, Eckerö Line responds to the 2% emissions reduction requirement of the FuelEU Maritime regulation, which came into effect at the beginning of 2025, and encourages the use of lower-emission fuels in maritime transport.
Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, announced significant progress in its collaboration with leading textile innovators to develop PEF (polyethylenefuranoate)-based spacer fabric for Auping mattresses. PEF is a plant-based, fully circular polymer material. Recently, a consortium comprising of Auping, Muller Textiles, ANTEX and Monosuisse has successfully developed a PEF-based spacer fabric, a key component in Auping mattresses.
Pope Francis passed away yesterday morning. We want to remember him also for the messages he delivered on the climate and environmental crises, which were forceful and direct. He called the leaders of fossil fuel companies into the Vatican to hold them to account; declared a global climate emergency, in 2019; and in his final months, held a conference on “the economics of the common good”. He was a prowerful pope, alongside the poor and migrants, against wars. For these reasons Pope Francis was loved even by non-Catholic and non-religious people.
Here you find the Encyclal letter “Laudato Si’” on care for our Common Home. It recognized climate change as a global problem with significant consequences, especially for the poor, and criticized developed countries, which have contributed the most planet-heating pollution.
We know that Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s first big environmental move after being elected leader of the Catholic Church was his choice of the papal name Francis after Saint Francis of Assisi, known among other things for his appreciation of the natural world.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 