Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, a subsidiary of Japanese Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, announces that it has developed the world’s first bio-based polycarbonatediol, a type of high-performance polyols, and will begin worldwide market development and sales in April of this year. MCC uses proprietary manufacturing processes to produce the new product, which is of an entirely different composition than any other currently available polycarbonatediols.
The comfortable and generously-sized Kuskoa Bi is the first chair on the market to be manufactured in bioplastic. Its particularly enveloping shell, cut out in such a way as to optimize back and arm support, is delicately placed on a solid wood trestle. The designer is Jean Louis Iratzoki. The manufacturer is Alki, a French company.
The future is today and our flights are more and more bio-based. A Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-800 completed yesterday China’s first passenger flight with sustainable biofuel made by Sinopec from waste cooking oil collected from restaurants in China.
For the eighth year running the Innovation Award “Bio-based Material of the Year” will be awarded to the young, innovative bio-based material industry, finding suitable applications and markets for bio-based products. The competition focuses on new developments in these areas, which have had (or will have) a market launch in 2014 or 2015. The winners will be elected at the International Conference on Bio-based Materials, 13-15 April 2015 in Cologne, Germany, organised by nova-Institut. This year, six bio-based materials and products have been nominated for the Award by the advisory board – out of 24 submitted products. The nominated companies are from the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.
“The next generation of innovative, bio-based film technology has arrived,” says Milan Moscaritolo, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing of Toray Plastics. The company based in North Kingstown (Rhode Island, US) announced the introduction of new bio-based lidding films.
The European bioeconomy and its contribution to the creation of jobs and economic growth. The Juncker agenda and the new plans of the European Commission to foster the development of the bioeconomy . These are just some of the topics addressed by John Bell – Director of Bioeconomy Directorate of the European Commission – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista.
“The Bioeconomy – Bell says – contributes to generating jobs and growth, whilst increasing Europe’s competitiveness worldwide as well as decreasing the environmental footprint of our economy. It is furthermore closely related with other key priorities of the Juncker Commission, such as the Climate and Energy Union.”
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
“The bio-based PolyTHF 1000 is identical in quality to the petrochemical-based product.” To say it is Andrej Brejc, director Renewable Diols from BASF’s Intermediates division (sales to third parties of about 2.8 billion euro in 2014), which has made bio-based Polytetrahydrofuran 1000 (PolyTHF® 1000) available for the first time. The chemical company headquartered in Ludwigshafen is now providing this intermediate to selected partners for testing various applications in a large scale.
“Europe has traditionally large and strong chemical, food and consumer goods industries, and these have shown that they are very aware of the necessities and opportunities to change more and more to biotech enabled or biobased production and products. Perhaps there should be more that do so and it should be faster, reflecting the often-heard statement that Europe is good in science and not so good in upscaling and commercialization. Some of them point however to the more attractive business environments in for example the USA and Brazil, and act subsequently”. To say it in this long interview with Il Bioeconomista is Ernst Kloosterman, CEO of the Industrial Biotechnology Network Norway, a not-for-profit member association of organizations and individuals who want to stimulate to more research, knowledge transfer and innovation within the Norwegian biobased industry and industrial biotechnology sectors. With him we talk about the bioeconomy in Norway and Europe, with a look outside Europe.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
For International Women’s Day, we dedicate a tribute to the eight women who have distinguished themselves in the bioeconomy in the last year. With their huge capacity and their infinite passion, they are the stars of the world bioeconomy. Of course, best wishes to all women.
The Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy is implementing the Government’s bioeconomy, cleantech, and digitalisation strategy for accelerating new areas for growth. In June 2014 an international competition was launched as part of the bioeconomy strategy to expedite the commercialisation of bioeconomy innovations and the emergence of new biorefineries in Finland.
Spinnova Ltd. has won the international biorefinery competition with its new textile fibre production technology. Two other proposals to receive awards in the competition are Biovakka Suomi’s concept for combining the production of biogas, nutrients, and transport fuel, and a proposal by the that incorporates novel Finnish technology for the production of new biomaterials and biochemicals.
