Bioplastics which are made from renewable waste plant sources, with no competition with food supply chains, and are 100% naturally biodegradable. The final phase testing Minerv PHA Supertoys for making scale models has begun, launched by Bio-on in collaboration with Italeri, the leading manufacturer of static models. The results will be presented in February 2017 in Nuremberg, Germany during the “Play and toys fair”, the sector’s largest and most prestigious event.
Neste and Ikea of Sweden yesterday announced partnership to deliver renewable, bio-based plastics. The two Scandinavian companies have joined forces to take leadership in renewable, bio-based materials, and invite other companies to join the initiative.
The partnership includes the production of plastics and other materials utilizing Neste’s renewable solutions in polymer production.
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.
Ford Motor Company is teaming up with Jose Cuervo® to explore the use of the tequila producer’s agave plant byproduct to develop more sustainable bioplastics to employ in Ford vehicles.
Ford and Jose Cuervo are testing the bioplastic for use in vehicle interior and exterior components such as wiring harnesses, HVAC units and storage bins. Initial assessments suggest the material holds great promise due to its durability and aesthetic qualities. Success in developing a sustainable composite could reduce vehicle weight and lower energy consumption, while paring the use of petrochemicals and the impact of vehicle production on the environment.
“The bioeconomy is the biggest chance we have to decarbonise our world and make it a more sustainable place”. Thomas Kläusli, Chief Marketing Officer at AVA Biochem and AVA-CO2, talks to Il Bioeconomista. AVA Biochem is a subsidiary of AVA-CO2 Schweiz AG, which produces the premium platform chemical 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from renewable biomass, and delivers to industrial and research customers around the globe. “5-HMF – the Swiss manager say – can be used for many applications, including the bioplastics industry”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Metabolix, an U.S. advanced biomaterials company focused on sustainable solutions for the plastics industry, announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with CJ CheilJedang Corporation (“CJ”) for a strategic commercial manufacturing arrangement for specialty PHAs, including the Company’s newly launched amorphous PHA (“a-PHA”).
CJ CheilJedang is a Korean-based food, feed, and bioscience company, and a subsidiary of the CJ Group. It is a global leader in the area of industrial biotechnology with innovations in fermentation and purification technologies.
Italian biotech company Bio-on announces the launch of a new collaboration with Italeri S.p.A., a production and distribution leader in the modelling sector. Thanks to this agreement, the manufacture of scale models will be done for the first time with the special grade Minerv PHA Supertoys, the new type of bioplastic developed by Bio-on laboratories.
Bio-on and SECI Spa, part of Gruppo Industriale Maccaferri holding, signed an agreement to build the world’s first facility for the production of PHAs bioplastic from biodiesel production co-products, namely glycerol. The two companies will work together to build a production site with a 5 thousand tons/year output, expandable to 10 thousand tons/year.
Bio-on and Moore Capital signed a license agreement to build the first Brazil-based facility to produce PHAs bioplastic from sugar cane co-products.
The two companies, operating in sustainable biochemistry and in the development of eco-sustainable industrial solutions, will work together to build a production site with a 10 thousand tons/year output, in the state of São Paulo and/or Acre State.
SECOS Group, a leader in sustainable packaging formed through the merger of Cardia Bioplastics and Stellar Films Group in April 2015, announced the successful scale-up production of its “environmentally friendly, high quality and cost competitive Biohybrid™ films” tailored for the global personal care and hygiene product markets. The company manufactures a broad range of Biohybrid™ hygiene films at its Stellar Films Australian cast film manufacturing plant.
IL BIOECONOMISTA 