“In future, I believe that regulation, consumer behaviour and sustainability will force the traditional petrochemical industry to rethink and find alternative ways to move forward.” To say it – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Bertel Karlstedt, the new CEO of Circa Group, the Oslo-headquartered biochemical company, which is listed on Euronext.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Enerkem will be retiring its Enerkem Alberta Biofuels (EAB) plant in Edmonton. According to the Canadian company the facility achieved its main objective of completing the commercial scale-up of Enerkem’s industry-leading technology. With more than 15,000 hours of operation producing ethanol and methanol (ISCC EU and ISCC PLUS certified), the plant facilitated the validation by strategic industry players and other third parties of Enerkem’s innovative waste-to-biofuels platform. It also allowed Enerkem to attract global partners and investors while developing a world-class team with expertise in design and deployment of advanced gasification technology.
There is a new company in the global bioeconomy: Novonesis. On December 12, 2022, Novozymes and Chr. Hansen entered into an agreement to create a leading global biosolutions partner through a statutory merger of the two companies. All regulatory approvals and registrations are now in place and the proposed combination is successfully completed following the final registration with the Danish Business Authority.
The Commission published a detailed impact assessment on possible pathways to reach the agreed goal of making the European Union climate neutral by 2050. Based on this impact assessment, the Commission recommends a 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, launching a discussion with all stakeholders; a legislative proposal will be made by the next Commission, after the European elections, and agreed with the European Parliament and Member States as required under the EU Climate Law. This recommendation is in line with the advice of the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change (ESABCC) and the EU’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Eni confirms its decision to build Italy’s third biorefinery in Livorno. The project, first announced in October 2022 and followed by an application for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in November 2022, is awaiting official authorisations and includes the construction of three new facilities for the production of hydrogenated biofuels: a biogenic feedstock pre-treatment unit; a 500,000 tonnes/year Ecofining™ plant; and a facility to produce hydrogen from methane gas.
Helios Resins, a Slovenian based producer of advanced coating- and composite resins, signed a capacity reservation agreement for FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) developed by Avantium, a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials. FDCA is a raw material whose commercial applications include coating resins, surfactants, polyamides, polyurethanes and the 100% plant-based polymer material PEF (polyethylene furanoate).
Ryanair, Europe’s no.1 airline, and Enilive, a company directly controlled by Italian company Eni which holds 100% of its share capital, signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the long-term supply of Enilive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at selected Ryanair airports across Italy, further advancing the airline’s Pathway to Net Zero by 2050 decarbonization strategy. This agreement with Enilive would enable Ryanair to access to up to 100,000 tons (33m gallons) of SAF between 2025 and 2030 (equiv. to 20,000 flights from Milano Malpensa Airport to Dublin).
Thomas Philipon is the CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion, a global leader in the marketing, sales and production of PLA (Poly Lactic Acid). He is also the Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEO 2023 according to the readers of Il Bioeconomista. In this exclusive interview with us, Philipon talks about the meaning of innovation in the bioeconomy, the role played by TotalEnergies Corbion and above all the European legislative framework to support the ecological transition, in comparison with USA and China. “Europe – he states – is leading in the bioeconomy, but needs to support sectors like bioplastics, otherwise the risk is that we develop the know-how, but other areas of the world (USA and China), will scale up the production of these products”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Global Bioenergies, France-headquartered company which is a key player in industrial biotechnology, signed a new development contract with Shell Global Solutions (Deutschland) GmbH to further develop low carbon road fuels. While the previous phases of the collaboration, starting at the end of 2022, were dedicated to exploring different potential options based on proprietary Global Bioenergies’ technology, the aim now is to focus on one specific route.
There is a Scottish bioeconomy beyond Brexit. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has been awarded long-term investment from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), securing its position at the forefront of Scotland’s emerging bioeconomy. The commitment, announced by the First Minister yesterday, will enable the innovation centre to continue the development of a greener economy and support Scotland’s transition to net zero. Industrial biotechnology explores the creation of more sustainable materials, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals by using bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals.
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