Japanese Toyobo and Dutch Avantium partners on PEF polymerization and PEF films

Avantium and Coca-Cola together to produce bio-based bottles
Avantium is also partner of Coca-Cola to produce bio-based bottles

Toyobo, one of Japan’s top makers of fibers and textiles, and Avantium, a Dutch scale-up renewable chemicals company that develops and commercializes a next generation biobased chemicals and bioplastic, yesterday announced their partnership on PEF polymerization and PEF films. The two companies have jointly developed thin films made from PEF, a 100% biobased plastic based on Avantium’s proprietary YXY technology for the production of FDCA.

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IBN-One awarded the first engineering contract for its bio-isobutene plant to Technip and IPSB

Headquarter of Technip in Lyon
Headquarter of Technip in Lyon

IBN-One, a subsidiary of Global Bioenergies and Cristal Union, yesterday announced it has awarded the first engineering contract for its bio-isobutene plant to Technip and IPSB. Following a consultation process by IBN-One in spring 2016, the initial engineering work contract has been awarded to a consortium that includes Technip, a global leader in engineering for the energy, petrochemical and chemical industries, and IPSB, an engineering firm specialising in sugar and biotechnologies. This first front-end engineering design (FEED) phase will run for 12 months and precedes the detailed engineering studies for the plant’s construction.

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Enerkem obtains the ISCC certification and is ready to export biomethanol as a biofuel in EU

Enerkem's biorefinery in Edmonton, Alberta
Enerkem’s biorefinery in Edmonton, Alberta

Enerkem Inc., a Canadian waste-to-biofuels and chemicals producer, yesterday announced it has obtained certification from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) system for the biomethanol production of its Enerkem Alberta Biofuels full-scale facility in Edmonton, Canada. This biorefinery therefore becomes the first ISCC certified plant in the world to convert municipal solid waste into biomethanol.

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IFIB 2016: Vicenza will be the center of gravity of the world bioeconomy on 22-23 September

CUOA Business Center (Villa Valmarana Morosini in Altavilla Vicentina)
CUOA Business Center (Villa Valmarana Morosini in Altavilla Vicentina)

Everything is ready in Altavilla Vicentina (Vicenza, Italy) to host the Italian Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy. Taking place on 22-23 September at CUOA Business Center, IFIB 2016 will bring together the European bioeconomy stakeholders, from universities and research centers to big companies.

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Italy to invest $450 million in bioethanol project in Iran

Crescentino bioethanol plant. The same plant in Iran?
A private sector company from Italy signed agreement to make $450 million investment in Amirabad port of Behshahr, Northern Iran, Director of Ports and Maritime Administration of Amirabad Special Economic Zone said on Tuesday to IRNA, the Iranian press agency.
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Brexit? No, thanks. EFIB 2016 goes to Scotland

Scottish Exhibition and Convention Center, Glasgow
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow

Everything is ready in Glasgow, Scotland, to host the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy. Taking place on 18-20 October at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, EFIB 2016 – organised by EuropaBio and Smithers Rapra – will take advantage of the opportunity to increase engagement between policy makers and a broad range of stakeholders connected with the existing biobased value chain, and reach a new network of end users from a range of industries.

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Flow Festival in Helsinki will be a carbon-neutral event

Flow Festival in Finland last year
Flow Festival in Finland last year

Flow Festival, which will take place between 12 and 14 August in Suvilahti, Helsinki, will be a carbon-neutral event, seeking to minimize emissions through comprehensive environmental work. Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel, will provide Neste Renewable Diesel made 100% from wastes and residues to the generation of electricity requirements of Flow. Most of the electricity required for the festival will come from generators, as the electric grid in the area can only supply a small fraction of the power required for the event.

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Arno van de Ven, Stora Enso Biomaterials: Growth in the bioeconomy needs to be sustainable

Arno van de Ven
Arno van de Ven

“Creating a common framework and standardised system to evaluate the bio-based products, along with mandatory targets for biosourced products in public procurement, would certainly provide a boost the European bioeconomy. Improving access to finance for research and innovation would also foster growth.” Arno van den Ven, Senior Vice President, Innovation in Stora Enso’s Biomaterials division, talks to Il Bioeconomista. In this long exclusive interview he talks about Stora Enso Biomaterials, the wood-based economy and how to foster growth in the European bioeconomy.

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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Christian Kemp Griffin, Ceo of CelluComp: “Investments should be made in the bioeconomy because it is the future”

Christian Kemp-Griffin, Ceo of CelluComp
Christian Kemp-Griffin, Ceo of CelluComp

“Investments should be made in the bioeconomy because it is the future. Although it is still in the early years of development, there is little doubt that this area will become important.” To say it, in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista, is Christian Kemp Griffin, executive director and Ceo of CelluComp, a dynamic material science company based in Scotland that develops high performance products based on sustainable resources. With Kemp-Griffin we talk about CelluComp and the development of the bioeconomy.

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso

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Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels: It’s time to act quickly to decarbonise the EU transport sector

The Mossi Ghisolfi Biorefinery in Crescentino, Italy
The Mossi Ghisolfi Biorefinery in Crescentino, Italy

“It is time to act quickly and in a targeted manner in order to ensure the much needed decarbonisation of the European transport sector”. To say it is Piero Cavigliasso, director public affairs Biochemtex (Mossi Ghisolfi Group) and president of the Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels, an European group which brings together big companies such as Clariant, UPM, British Airways and Dong Energy

“Our companies – Cavigliasso writes in an note – re-confirm the willingness to further deploy and supply the most innovative technologies to produce advanced biofuels from currently unused, underutilized or otherwise wasted raw materials in order to contribute to the EU objectives outlined in the strategy (European Strategy for Low Emission Mobility, published by the European Commission last 20 July, editor’s note).”

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