Stora Enso launched bio-based lignin as renewable replacement for oil-based phenolic materials. Lignin is one of the main building blocks of a tree and makes up 20-30% of the composition of wood. Yet it has traditionally been discarded by the pulp and paper industries. However, Stora Enso has recognised the potential of this versatile raw material, which can be used in a range of applications where fossil-based materials are currently used.
The master BioCirce received yesterday at the Parliament, from the President of the Italian Republic, the Italiadecide (Italy decides) prize for teaching innovation. BioCirce is the first European Master in Bioeconomy in the Circular economy. To organise it are four Italian universities from North to South (University of Turin, University of Milan Bicocca, University of Bologna and University of Naples Federico II), with the support of three of the main Italian bioeconomy players (Novamont, GFBiochemicals and Science Park of Lodi) and the Italian leading banking Group Intesa Sanpaolo, which is the only financial global partner of the Ellen McArthur Foudation.
Great result in the Canadian bioeconomy. Enerkem Inc., a world leading waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer headquartered in Montréal, completed a C$280 million investment round–its largest to date. In addition to new investors BlackRock and Sinobioway, existing investors also participated in this financing.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Bee’ah to develop the UAE’s waste-to-energy (WtE) sector. This partnership will help contribute to the UAE Government’s Vision 2021 which targets, among other goals, diverting waste from landfills by 75 per cent by 2021. Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the primary treatment of waste.
“With the Plastic Strategy the Commission presented an ambitious plan but it focuses only on mechanical recycling of conventional plastics and falls short in considering and evaluating the big benefits for the environment and for the ‘green’ jobs in Europe that bioplastics can provide”. Mariagiovanna Vetere, NatureWorks Public Affairs manager for Europe, talks to Il Bioeconomista.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Italy-based Aquafil and Californian biotech company Genomatica join forces to create sustainable caprolactam, a key ingredient to producing 100% sustainable nylon. The collaboration between the two companies aims to develop a commercially-advantageous bioprocess (Genomatica’s GENO CPL process) to make caprolactam using plant-based renewable ingredients, rather than the crude oil-derived materials traditionally used by the nylon industry.
With governments committed to reducing emissions and consumers becoming more educated about where their products come from, there are opportunities for the bio-based sector to become a true contender to fossil oil. Yet long development times, lack of investment, and challenges in attaining a secure and sustainable supply chain have made it difficult for the bio-economy to achieve commercial success.
New York City announced first-in-the-nation goal to divest from fossil fuels. Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and other trustees of the City’s $189 Billion pension funds announced a goal to divest City funds from fossil fuel reserve owners within five years, which would make New York City the first major US pension plan to do so. In a first-in-the-nation step towards the goal of divestment, the Mayor and Comptroller will submit a joint resolution to pension fund trustees to begin analyzing ways to divest from fossil fuel owners in a responsible way that is fully consistent with fiduciary obligations. In total, the City’s five pension funds hold roughly $5 billion in the securities of over 190 fossil fuel companies. The City’s move is among the most significant divestment efforts in the world to date.
In this early 2018 it seems the main problem for Italians is the price of biodegradable bags for fruit and vegetables. Many Italians complain about the cents to buy the biodegradable bags but say nothing about toxic clouds that devastate the territory from North to South. What are we talking about for the benefit of our non-Italian readers?
“Our goal is to reduce carbon and to do this we must adopt new approaches by using alternative feedstocks, including existing wastes and residues instead of fossil. Today we have an abundance of carbon in all the wrong places. We can turn it from a liability to an opportunity by using it again and again”. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech, on of the most dynamic and growing bioeconomy companies at world level, talks to Il Bioeconomista, in an interview released after the Bioeconomy Investment Summit, which was held on December 14 in Helsinki.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
IL BIOECONOMISTA 