Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) has made a COMM SCI (Centre for Commercialization of Sustainable Chemistry Innovation) investment, whose amount wasn’t disclosed, in Origin Materials through BIC’s Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) investment fund, as part of an investment round that will see Origin construct its first commercial scale demonstration facility in Sarnia (Ontario) by late 2018.
Technology
GRACE: 15 million euro project optimizes value chains for miscanthus and hemp
“GRowing Advanced industrial Crops on marginal lands for biorEfineries” (GRACE): this is the name of the BBI demonstration project under the coordination of the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart (Germany) and with a unique consortium made up of universities, agricultural companies and industry. The aims will be achieved by knowledge exchange between these groups, together with new crop varieties and cultivation experiments on areas that have been polluted by heavy metals, for example, or are unattractive for food production due to lower yields.
Neste is focusing its raw materials research on waste plastics
Finnish Neste is focusing its raw materials research on waste plastics as a substitute for crude oil in the manufacture of oil products. The idea of “one’s waste is a valuable raw material to another” is central to the circular economy, and, for over a decade, it has inspired Neste’s development and production of renewable fuels. The company headquartered in Espoo already produces enough Neste MY Renewable Diesel, produced of waste and residues, to power more than two million cars for a year. This will enable Neste’s customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by almost 7 million tons this year. Underpinning this progress is the company’s patented NEXBTL technology for refining low-quality waste fats into high-quality, fully renewable fuel. The same technology can be used to produce other renewable products also, such as renewable aviation fuel and raw material for bioplastics.
The bioeconomy is now: aniline can now be derived from biomass thanks to Covestro
Covestro, the leading supplier of high-tech polymers headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany, has scored a research breakthrough for the use of plant-based raw materials in plastics production: aniline, an important basic chemical, can now be derived from biomass. The German materials manufacturer achieved this by collaborating with partners on the development of a completely new process, initially in the laboratory. Until now, only fossil raw materials had been used for the production of aniline, which plays an important role in the chemical industry and is used as starting material for numerous products.
Finnish KaiCell Fibers makes a further step forward
Finnish company KaiCell Fibers completed a technical-commercial feasibility study (FS), mainly delivered by CTS Engtec Oy, and now is ready for the next steps towards making the biorefinery in Paltamo, northeast Finland, a reality.
The bioplastic produced by Synvina is recyclable in the European bottle recycling market
The bioplastics industry moves another step forward: the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) – a voluntary initiative of industry organizations representing waste collectors, plastic recyclers, PET material producers and brand owners – has given interim approval for the recyclability of polyethylenefuranoate (PEF), produced by Synvina, the Joint Venture between Avantium and Basf, in the European bottle recycling market.
The Bio-based Material of the Year 2017 Award to Bio-lutions, Paptic and Phytowelt Green Tech
Bio-lutions, Paptic and Phytowelt GreenTechnologies. The Innovation Award “Bio-based Material of the Year 2017” was awarded to these three innovative companies for their materials in specific applications. The competition focused on new developments in the bio-based economy, which have had (or will have) a market launch in 2016 or 2017. The winners were elected by the participants of the 10th International Conference on Bio-based Materials in Cologne, Germany.
Royal DSM to make an equity investment in Amyris
Amyris, Inc., the U.S. industrial bioscience company, and Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Royal DSM), the Dutch global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials, have agreed for DSM to make an equity investment in Amyris. At the same time, the companies will enter into a development cooperation focused on products for the global health and nutrition markets (including vitamins and other nutritional ingredients).
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Bolloré collaborates with Braskem as its supplier for green PE
Bolloré, the French pioneer in ultra-thin packaging, launched the first ultrathin packaging shrink film on a basis of green polyethylene called B-Nat®.
Ford is increasingly bio-based: the new frontier is bamboo
“You’ve probably sat on it, built with it, and maybe even eaten it, but did you know that your car could be next to benefit from bamboo, one of the world’s strongest natural materials?” This question is asked by the Ford Motor Company, the global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan, with about 201,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide. While investment in research has led to breakthroughs in new materials like super strong carbon fiber and lightweight aluminum, nature’s wonder material may have been growing all along and as much as three feet in a day. Soon, some surfaces inside Ford’s vehicles could be made from a combination of bamboo and plastic to create super hard material.
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