LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, and Neste, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel from waste and residues, jointly started the first parallel production of bio-based polypropylene and bio-based low-density polyethylene at a commercial scale.
Novozymes inaugurated its new Innovation Campus in Lyngby, 13 kilometers north of Copenhagen and seven kilometers from its headquarters in Bagsværd. With the location near the Technical University of Denmark, it is Novozymes’ ambition to create a global hub for biotech research.
All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest and 5-Star airline for seven consecutive years, signed an offtake agreement with Illinois-based LanzaTech that will allow the company to purchase sustainable aviation fuel, a significant step in ANA’s efforts to minimize its environmental impact and meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is not the first time that ANA has utilized sustainable aviation fuel, and the current agreement targets 2021 for the delivery of the sustainable aviation fuel making ANA a leader in putting its green principles into practice.
Sweden is aiming to become climate neutral by 2045. However, it has been estimated by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that we may have as little as twelve years to tackle climate change. To examine what it takes to reduce CO2 emissions as fast as possible, Neste and its partners set to turn the island of Lidö in the Swedish archipelago into a climate neutral Zero Island in just twelve months. As a result of the project, the island’s emissions were brought down by an impressive 78 percent from their previous levels.
Last Wednesday Theresa May announced a statutory instrument to amend the UK Climate Change Act of 2008. The law currently prescribes an emissions cut of 80% by 2050, from a 1990 baseline. The new law will aim for net zero emissions by 2050, making the U.K. the first G7 nation to pass such legislation.
In the same day, against a backdrop of growing global awareness of the importance of environmental protection, the Embassy of Italy in London launched “Zero-Waste Embassy”, aiming to reduce significantly the environmental impact of the mission’s energy supply, waste management and consumption.
The initiative falls under the umbrella of Farnesina Verde (Green Foreign Ministry), a plan for the Italian diplomatic network worldwide, overseen by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Continue reading
ExxonMobil is progressing growth plans to substantially increase earnings and cash flow potential while researching technology breakthroughs to reduce emissions, Chairman and CEO Darren Woods told shareholders during the company’s annual meeting.
Last Thursday Avantium hosted a Technology & Markets Day at its headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The company will update the market on Avantium’s strategy and technologies, in particular that of the Synvina business unit and the commercialization of PEF, a 100% renewable and fully recyclable polymer.
Avantium develops novel technologies based on renewable carbon sources as an alternative to fossil- based chemicals and plastics. Next to developing and commercializing renewable chemistry technologies, the company also provides advanced catalysis R&D services and systems to customers in the refinery and chemical industries. The company currently has three technologies at pilot and demonstration phase. Continue reading
San Diego-based Genomatica, a technology leader for bio-based chemicals, has acquired certain assets of the REG Life Sciences division (REG LS) of Renewable Energy Group, Inc., the largest supplier of advanced biofuels in North America. Genomatica intends to use these assets to develop a wider range of sustainable chemicals which in turn are used to make numerous everyday materials and products.
The final event of the European project FIRST2RUN will take place at the Square Convention centre in Brussels on June 20. Co-ordinated by Italian biochemical company Novamont and funded by the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, FIRST2RUN is a flagship project involving four companies and universities from Italy, UK and The Netherlands.
Finnish company UPM launches a new advanced wound care product for the European market. FibDex® is the first wound dressing created from wood-based nanofibrillar cellulose to receive regulatory approval and be awarded a CE mark. Nanofibrillar cellulose, which has been shown to be biocompatible with human cells and tissue, forms the core of the dressing. UPM’s proprietary nanotechnology, combined with over a decade of research into nanofibrillar cellulose and a highly professional R&D, has resulted in the development of this unique product.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 