Scottish cleantech innovators Celtic Renewables launched its Crowdcube funding campaign on the back of investor appetite to fund companies with environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. With commissioning of Celtic Renewables’ biorefinery in Scotland – the first of its kind in the UK – on track for Spring 2021, and on the back of £30 million funding already raised; the business is poised to play a pivotal role in the UK’s transition to net-zero economy.
“The use of renewable biological sources is a key element for Indena, when sourcing a biomass for the development and manufacturing of a botanical ingredient”. To say this – in this interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Stefano Togni, Business Development Director at Indena, Milan-based multinational leading company dedicated to the identification, development and production of high quality active principles derived from plants, for use in the pharmaceutical and health food industries. He talks with us about Indena’s main business, the company’s role in the BBI JU Demo project Grace and the sustainable development policies after the pandemic.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Mizuno, the famous Japanese brand specializing in technical footwear and clothing, launched a new version of its iconic “Wave Rider” shoe range, the Mizuno Wave Rider 24. This shoe features Mizuno’s new “Enerzy midsole technology” with their classical “Wave Plate” embedded in the foam. This wave plate is made with our Pebax® Rnew® polymer, a bio-based thermoplastic derived from castor beans.
Crédit Agricole Leasing Italia confirms its commitment to promoting sustainable initiatives by supporting NextChem, the Maire Tecnimont Group company for the energy transition, in the activities of the subsidiary MyReplast Industries, a company specialised in plastic waste Upcycling. Crédit Agricole Leasing Italia financed a leasing plan to purchase innovative equipment and machinery aimed at further increasing the production performance of the entire Upcycling process.
Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, acquired Erber Group for an enterprise value of €980 million. The transaction – which excludes two smaller units in the Erber Group – is expected to be earnings enhancing in the first year upon completion.
The European Commission announced last Thursday, during the International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy which was held in Rome, the first closing at €82m of the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), the first equity fund focused on the bioeconomy and on circularity in the EU and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries under management of the ECBF Management GmbH. The European Investment Bank (EIB), which committed to invest a total of €100m to the target size of the ECBF of €250m, raised €65m in the first closing, the rest came from private investors.
Rome is the world capital of the bioeconomy for a couple of days. The International Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (IFIB) starts today in the Eternal City and is both physical and digital because of the Covid19 restrictions.
AGCO Power, a Finnish engine manufacturer will start using Neste MY Renewable Diesel at its plant in Nokia, Finland. The fuel will replace fossil fuels in all internal logistics vehicles before the end of 2020. Neste and AGCO Power will also work on a joint research project to develop an automatic fuel identification system.
bp and Microsoft Corp. agreed to collaborate as strategic partners to further digital transformation in energy systems and advance the net zero carbon goals of both companies. This includes a co-innovation effort focused on digital solutions, the continued use of Microsoft Azure as a cloud-based solution for bp infrastructure and bp supplying renewable energy to help Microsoft meet its 2025 renewable energy goals.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a leading Indian Refining company based in Mangalore, is planning to install a second generation (2G) ethanol facility in the State of Karnataka, India.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 