Business

Samsill converts its line of Earth’s Choice ring binders to bio-based materials

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Ring binders which are at least 69% bio-based and are USDA Certified Bio-Based Products. To make them is Samsill, one of the world’s largest independently owned manufacturers of solutions which protect, organize, present and transport information and digital accessories. The U.S. company  is converting its line of Earth’s Choice ring binders to bio-based materials. The company combined 100% post-consumer recycled chipboard – with plastic containing 25% of Green Polyethylene, a bioplastic made from sugarcane ethanol, a 100% renewable source which promotes the reduction of greenhouse gasses, provided by the Brazilian biochemical giant Braskem, the leading producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the world leader in the production of biopolymers.

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Canadian Solegear buys the bioplastics division of U.S. Ex-Tech

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SolegearSolegear Bioplastic Technologies, a global-leading bioplastic technology company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, announced yesterday that it has formally closed the previously announced strategic acquisition of the bioplastics division of Ex-Tech Plastics for consideration of $1.33 million in common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.20 per share.  Ex-Tech, based in the Chicago, Illinois, area has been a leading manufacturer of extruded plastic sheets for over thirty years.

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Eni integrates its traditional business and energy from renewable sources

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Eni's plant in Gela, Sicily

Waiting for the new buyer of Versalis, Eni – the Italian oil giant – has made new and important progress in its commitment to combatting climate change, creating an original model of integration between its traditional business and energy from renewable sources.

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Amyris and CJ CheilJedang to support the growing bioeconomy in Asia

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John Melo, Ceo of Amyris

Amyris, the industrial bioscience company based in California, and South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang Corporation last Friday announced that the companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support large-scale manufacturing of Amyris’s farnesene, a fuel sourced from sugar cane, in existing CJ facilities.

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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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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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