Finnish giant Neste and Fly Victor, the on-demand private jet company, started a partnership which sets a new sustainability benchmark in business aviation. Victor members can now purchase Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ (SAF) for every private jet booking globally. This enables private jet charterers to reduce the carbon footprint of their private air travel in a credible and measurable way.
Carlsberg Group and Dutch biochemical company Avantium agreed to take the next step in the commercialisation of PEF. The Danish Group signed a conditional offtake agreement with Avantium to secure a fixed volume of the 100% plant-based, recyclable and high-performance polymer PEF (polyethylene furanoate) from Avantium’s FDCA Flagship Plant, which Avantium aims to start-up in 2024. Carlsberg will use the PEF resin for various packaging applications, including its Fibre Bottle – the bio-based and fully recyclable beer bottle.
Suzano, the world’s largest hardwood pulp producer and a global reference in developing sustainable and innovative solutions from renewable sources, launched Suzano Ventures, a global corporate venture capital initiative. It will invest US$70 million in a range of businesses with the potential to revolutionize their sector and beyond, by addressing some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The initiative will focus on companies operating within at least one of four bioeconomy applications: improving the measurement and management of carbon sequestration, accelerating and maximizing agroforestry yield, developing new technologies and applications for pulp biomass, and creating more efficient pulp packaging from renewable sources.
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.
A consortium, including LanzaTech and Danone, led to the discovery of a new route to monoethylene glycol, (MEG), which is a key building block for polyethylene terephthalate, (PET), resin, fibers and bottles. The technology converts carbon emissions from steel mills or gasified waste biomass directly into MEG. The carbon capture technology uses a proprietary engineered bacterium to convert carbon emissions directly into MEG through fermentation, bypassing the need for an ethanol intermediate, and simplifying the MEG supply chain. The direct production of MEG was proven at laboratory scale and the presence of MEG was confirmed by two external laboratories.
The US bioeconomy takes a step forward. Genomatica, Cargill, HELM and Qore completed a groundbreaking ceremony in Eddyville, Iowa, to celebrate the construction of the first, bio-1,4-butanediol (BDO) facility to be built in the U.S. and the second bio BDO commercial scale plant for Geno. It’s a major milestone for biotech to supply more sustainable materials to meet surging consumer demand, while advancing manufacturing right in America’s heartland.
The BMW Group has chosen to use BASF Coatings’ CathoGuard® 800 ReSource e-coat at its plants in Leipzig, Germany, and Rosslyn, South Africa, and the iGloss® matt ReSource clearcoat throughout Europe. Using these more sustainable product versions for vehicle coatings enables CO2 avoidance of around 40% per coating layer; this will reduce the amount of CO2 emitted in the plants by more than 15,000 metric tons by 2030.
BRAIN Biotech AG and Formo Bio GmbH launched a strategic collaboration to further advance the production of animal-free milk proteins. BRAIN Biotech is a leading industrial biotechnology company, Formo is a pioneering food-tech startup in the space of alternative milk protein. As experts in their field, the two German biotech companies are powering European innovation.
UPM Biochemicals and KRAHN Chemie Deutschland GmbH signed an exclusive distribution agreement to market UPM BioMotion Renewable Functional Fillers (RFF) in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. RFF are a completely new category of functional fillers, replacing fossil-based carbon black and precipitated silica. The distribution agreement covers UPM BioMotion X10, X20 and X40 product grades to be used in plastics, adhesives and sealants as well as paints and coatings.
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated and DSM have created a strategic alliance connecting two leading, sustainability-focused companies to address one of society’s most significant opportunities of the decade, mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming. Elanco has secured the exclusive U.S. licensing rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize Bovaer® for beef and dairy cattle. Bovaer® is a first-in-class and best-in-class methane-reducing innovative feed additive for beef and dairy cattle, already available in Europe, Brazil, Chile and Australia. More than 50 peer-reviewed studies and 48 on-farm trials in 14 countries show Bovaer® consistently reduces enteric methane emissions by approximately 30% for dairy cows and even higher percentages for beef cattle.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 