The chemical giant BASF and bse Engineering have signed an exclusive joint development agreement for BASF to provide custom made catalysts for a new chemical energy storage process. This process will enable economically viable transformation of excess current and off-gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into the chemical energy storage methanol in small-scale, delocalized production units.
Elopak, an international supplier of paper based packaging solutions for liquid food, based in Norway and wholly owned by the Ferd Group, and Stora Enso has launched the first gable top carton made from natural brown unbleached paperboard, creating the Naturally Pure-Pak® carton with a highly distinctive, natural look and feel.
Starting in July, the airport buses at Helsinki Airport has been fuelled by diesel manufactured wholly from waste and residue. Finavia – a limited corporation owned fully by the Finnish state, which is responsible for maintaining and developing its 21 airports and Finland’s air navigation system – started a gradual conversion to using renewable diesel in all buses travelling between the terminal and aircraft at Helsinki Airport. It is also Finavia’s goal to encourage other companies operating at its airports to use renewable fuels.
Ethanol Production Facility in Keyes, CACupertino-based Aemetis is producing cellulosic ethanol from orchard waste, utilizing technologies from Aemetis, LanzaTech and InEnTec, after successfully completing the construction and commencement of an Integrated Demonstration Unit.
Novozymes launched two new enzymes for the European ethanol market. The two products (Spirizyme® 2.0 T and Spirizyme Ultra T) are part of the Spirizyme T Portfolio, an advanced suite of glucoamylase enzymes with trehalase that deliver yield enhancing activities documented to provide the highest total sugar conversion in the industry.
Amyris, the U.S. industrial bioscience company led by John Melo, closed the second and final tranche of its previously announced financing. The second tranche of $50 million in a private placement was led by a $25 million investment from Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Royal DSM) with the remaining $25 million contributed by Vivo Capital.
Rome will be the Euro-mediterranean capital of the bioeconomy for a couple of days. The Italian Forum on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (IFIB) goes to the Italian capital from 5 to 6 October at the Palazzo Rospigliosi, in front of the House of the President of the Republic.
The second edition of the Bioeconomy Investment Summit will take place on 14-15 December in Helsinki, Finland, organized by the European Commission and the European Forest Institute. Over 30 speakers from across the globe will share their views on how we can bring together the economy and the environment. “New advances in technology – the organizers say – mean that everything that can be made out of oil can be made from renewable, biological resources. There are huge environmental and business opportunities for a wide range of industries: construction, chemicals, textiles, energy, plastics”.
The bioeconomy is today, in our everyday life: Reverdia’s Biosuccinium® has been used in the production of biobased materials for VAUDE’s new Skarvan range. As part of the completely redesigned Summer 2018 Shoe Collection, they offer consumers a sustainable choice of trekking shoe with high-end design.
“Clusters can set an environment for investment and implementation. They can bring the right people together and help to identify both hurdles and how to overcome them, for example by scouting technologies or helping to find access to funding”. To say it – in this long and exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Tatjana Schwabe, scientific advisor at CLIB2021, the German cluster of industrial biotechnology based in Düsseldorf. With Schwabe with talk about the role of clusters in supporting the European bioeconomy.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
