The bioeconomy is innovation, the result of the skills and passion of researchers and managers able to create value and new high-qualified jobs. At the end of 2014 Il Bioeconomista launched a new initiative: The 10 Most Innovative Bioeconomy CEOs. We ask a panel of world bioeconomy experts to tell us the Chief Executive Officers that have stood out as the most innovative during the last year.
This is the result in 2015:
Caserta re-starts from the bioeconomy. If the Southern Italian city between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries was known everywhere for the quality of its silk, today can aspire to become a center of gravity of the new sustainable bio-based economy. Here, GF Biochemicals launched last July the commercial-scale production of levulinic acid, using biomass as feedstock. The levulinic acid is a chemical building block that is used in various industrial sectors, from pharmaceuticals to cosmetics, from personal care to flavors and fragrances, from coating to fuel additives. In 2015 the company has produced 2 thousand tons and aims at producing 10 thousand tons in 2017 and up 50 thousand tons by 2019. A revolution, if we think that the company located in Caserta is certain to offer to the market in a few years the bio-based levulinic acid to a price of one dollar per kilo, versus the current 4-5 dollars per kilo for the corresponding product from oil, offering the same performance.
The protagonists of this bio-revolution, which is a key to economic development crucial for Italy and the Southern Italy in particular, are Pasquale Granata, young local entrepreneur, and Mathieu Flamini, the famous Arsenal player, former AC Milan, who unveiled a few days ago his involvement in the company in an interview with the Sun on Sunday.
In this exclusive interview is Pasquale Granata to talk with us about GFBiochemicals and the bioeconomy, as a key to regional regeneration to create economic development and new jobs within a framework of eco-sustainability.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Another important step on the road to Stora Enso’s transformation into a renewable materials company. The pulp and paper manufacturer headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, inaugurated yesterday the new Innovation Centre for biomaterials in Stockholm, that will host research, application, business development and strategic marketing under one roof.
Intesa Sanpaolo, Italian major banking group, has become a Global Partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, demonstrating its intention to become a key player in the network of stakeholders supporting the transition to a circular economy. The partnership was signed yesterday by Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, and Ellen MacArthur, Chairman and founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In its role as Global Partner, Intesa Sanpaolo will help to redefine business strategies to capture new opportunities, and will ensure financial support for investments used to re-design the industrial system.
The new circular economy package “seems to me that it is mainly focused on recycling materials, and that is off course also important. But we should also be looking at sustainable production, reducing the amount of oil used and replacing them with biobased products, preferably with a negative CO2 print”. Arno van de Kant, business development director of the Bioprocess Pilot Falicity located in the Netherlands, talks to Il Bioeconomista about the Dutch bioeconomy and the European policies to support the field.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Avantium, a Dutch scale-up renewable chemicals company that develops and commercializes a next generation biobased chemicals and bioplastic, signed an agreement with Mitsui & Co. to commercialize 100% biobased chemicals FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) and PEF (polyethylene furandicarboxylate) in Asia. As part of this agreement, Mitsui has been granted a right to pu rchase a sizable volume of FDCA from the first commercial FDCA plant to be constructed by Avantium.
Yesterday the European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Package to stimulate Europe’s transition towards a circular economy which will boost global competitiveness, foster sustainable economic growth and generate new jobs.
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The bioeconomy is protagonist at COP21 in Paris. BioAmber, a leader in renewable materials, yesterday announced that it has joined the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, alongside more than 140 companies from across the American economy that are standing with the Obama Administration to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to climate action and to voice support for a strong outcome to the COP21 Paris climate negotiations.
“It was a very interesting event, because for the first time the material use of biomass was really in the focus, instead of playing the second violin to bioenergy and biofuels only.” It is the opinion of Michael Carus, founder and managing director of the nova-Institut, relatively to the Bioeconomy Investment Summit which was held in Brussels on 9 and 10 November. With Carus, one of the most influential scientists in Europe, we talk about nova-Institut’s new study on biomass supply and demand, the CO2 economy and the circular economy.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Germany leads the world bioeconomy. Berlin was for three days (24-26 November) the venue of the Global Bioeconomy Summit which was attended by many of the protagonists of this meta-sector from Europe, Asia, Africa and America (approximately 700 people).
