Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) opened a demonstration facility that will turn waste cooking oil, commonly referred to as “gutter oil” in China, into sustainable aviation biofuel. The two companies estimate that 500 million gallons (1.8 billion liters) of biofuel could be made annually in China from used cooking oil.
The bio-based materials and chemicals industry is poised to attract nearly $1 billion in investment this year, led notably by later-stage funding rounds, according to Lux Research. The estimated $974 million investment represents a 28% increase from 2013, suggesting companies that endured the waves of economic disruption have gained maturity and regained investors’ confidence.
Avantium was recognised in the distinguished Global Cleantech 100 list and awarded as company of the year in Europe and Israel. The company, which is a spin-out from Royal Dutch Shell and is headquartered in The Netherlands, was among a number of bio-based organisations, clearly demonstrating the power of innovation in the renewable chemical sector. The annual selection of 100 top cleantech companies is made from 6,000 companies from 60 countries.
Abengoa – the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, generating electricity from renewable resources, converting biomass into biofuels and producing drinking water from sea water – promotes the use of sustainable transport every day through various measures that it has implemented. These initiatives include a pedestrian walkway that Abengoa constructed in 2012 to link the Los Bermejales and Bellavista districts with Campus Palmas Altas.
Matrìca, the 50/50 joint venture between Versalis (Eni) and Novamont, hosted today the International Open Day, a chance for the European Stakeholders attending the third Bioeconomy Conference held in Turin to visit the newly-built plant at Porto Torres, the bio-run industrial complex utilizing the latest technologies and vegetable oils as raw materials. The project was conceived back in 2011 with the objective of converting the petrochemical plant at Porto Torres into one of the most innovative, integrated green chemistry industrial project at world level.
Two companies have been announced as winners of EuropaBio’s Most Innovative Biotech SME Award 2014. The award ceremony took place yesterday in Brussels, as part of the second edition of the European Biotech Week.
US Department of Energy earmarks $25 million for biofuel research. The goal, according to the Department of Energy, is to reduce the cost of algal biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019. What’s more, this funding supports the development of a bioeconomy that can help create green jobs, spur innovation, improve the environment, and achieve national energy security.
Made from plant starches, Biome3D is a biodegradable plastic that combines easy processing and a superior print finish, while offering much higher print speeds. Developed in partnership with 3Dom Filaments, the new material was unveiled today at the TCT Show 2014, the leading event dedicated to 3D printing, additive manufacturing and product development.
Finnair, a pioneer in sustainable flying and the first airline listed in the Leadership Index of the worldwide Carbon Disclosure Project, operated its flight from Helsinki to New York on 23 September with an Airbus A330 using environmentally sustainable biofuel, coinciding with the UN Climate Summit taking place in New York on the same day. As a leader in the sustainable development of commercial aviation, the airline believes strongly in proactive measures to manage environmental performance.
BASF, Cargill and Novozymes announced the achievement of another milestone in their joint development of technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable raw materials. The team has demonstrated the successful conversion of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) to glacial acrylic acid and superabsorbent polymers. Moreover they have selected the process for further scale-up.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 