Versalis – Eni’s chemical company and a shareholder of Novamont (36%) – and Mater-Bi – a company controlled by Investitori Associati II and NB Renaissance – yesterday signed an agreement for Versalis to acquire the remaining 64% of Novamont’s shares currently held by Mater-Bi. Novamont is a leading international company in the field of chemistry from renewable sources. Next steps and the timing of closing are subject to approval by the competent authorities.
“The recognition of our sector through the application of specific NACE codes is an important element as it would allow a better measurement in the statistical field and the possibility of addressing specific legislative measures, such as financing or the creation of specific EER codes”. To say this – in this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Giulia Gregori, Strategic Planning and Corporate Communication manager at Novamont, the Italy-headquartered company which is leading the way in the world bioplastics sector.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
In 2021, the bioeconomy in EU4 (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) has reached a value of production of €1,500 billion, employing over 7 million people. Germany is confirmed as a leader with a value of €436.6 billion, then France (379.4 billion), Italy (364.3 billion) and Spain (251.5 billion). This is according a new Report realized by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department (Intesa Sanpaolo is one of the major banking group in Europe), in collaboration with Italian Circular Bioeconomy Cluster SPRING and Assobiotec, and today presented in Salerno (South Italy), which is dedicated to bioeconomy, which, in line with the definition of the European Commission, was defined as the set of activities using renewable natural resources to produce goods and energy, generating great advantages in terms of sustainability.
Versalis and Novamont are strengthening their partnership to reinforce synergies in the ecological transition of green chemistry, leveraging what has been built so far to maximize spin-offs and seize new opportunities. The commitment to Matrìca – the joint venture set up in 2011 between Versalis and Novamont at Porto Torres specializing in manufacturing bioproducts from renewable sources – has been reconfirmed.
Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has begun the production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass at Crescentino (Vercelli, North-western Italy). The plant, which was acquired in 2018, has been overhauled thanks to major investments and has started the production of advanced bioethanol, in compliance with the European legislation for the development of renewable energy RED II, as it is derived from raw materials that do not interfere with the food chain.
“I believe that EC and the Member States should really work with the aim of promoting such innovative and sustainable products, sustaining the market entry phase, especially in those market segments characterized by low margins and hard competition (such as building and textile sectors).” To say it – in this interview with Il Bioeconomista – is Stefano Babbini, co-founder and CEO of Mogu, an Italy-based SME which is exploring the potential of mycelium-based technologies in several application sectors. He talks with us about the company’s main business, the bioeconomy at European level and the BBI JU demo project Grace, where the Italian company is applying its technology to the hemp and miscanthus value chains.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
Versalis enters the market for bio-based products in the agriculture sector for the protection of crops. Thanks to an agreement with AlphaBio Control, a research and development company with offices in the United Kingdom and Italy specialised in the production of natural formulations for the protection of crops with its products already known in the pesticides market, Eni’s chemical company will develop bio-based and biodegradable herbicides and also biocides for the disinfection of surfaces, using as active ingredient productions from the bio-chemical platform in Porto Torres, Sardinia.
The Eni of Enrico Mattei, the great vision of Adriano Olivetti: in the industrial history of Italy we too often find ourselves, in retrospect, regretting the enormous opportunities lost due to the resistance to change by the “country system”. The intertwining of interests between politics, economics and finance has often played a key role in marginalizing and failing the most innovative industrial projects, those that could redesign the face of the Italian economy and society. Today we sadly pay the price and for this very reason it is important to rewrite the history of another great innovator, perhaps the only one who has not been hypocritically “beatified” after his death, and after the destruction of his project: Raul Gardini.
In 2018, bioeconomy in Italy has shown a production potential amounting to 345 billion euro, equal to approximately 10% of the total value of national production, employing approximately 2 million people. Italy is in third position at EU level. Germany is first with a production worth €414 billion and France second with €359 billion. Spain is fourth (€237 billion) followed by the UK (€223 billion). In these five countries, the bioeconomy is worth €1.568 trillion. Continue reading
Novamont, Turin Polytechnic and University of Bologna launched in Rome, ReSoil Foundation, a new tool to boost a real change, starting from soil health and the key concept of territorial regeneration.
The new foundation aims at promoting activities in the fields of scientific research, technology transfer, training and dissemination, and the creation of awareness on issues related to soil health, a non-renewable resource, increasingly degraded by the anthropogenic action, pollution and climate change.
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