German specialty chemicals company Lanxess, and Matrìca, Italian JV between Versalis (Eni) and Novamont, have partnered to produce sustainable biocide preservatives from renewable raw materials. The Matrìca plant at Porto Torres (Sardinia) will supply Lanxess with bio-based raw materials from vegetable oils, which Lanxess will use to manufacture a new series of industrial preservatives broadening its Preventol range.
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.
“A project to establish an agricultural sector which respects the region, which enhances the value of abandoned and unirrigated land in order to feed into the first integrated biorefinery model in the region. It will be in synergy with the food production chain and centred on high value-added products which can reduce and replace higher-impact raw materials sourced from further afield.” This is the core of the agreement signed by Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont and Matrìca (a 50/50 joint venture between Novamont and Versalis), Roberto Moncalvo, chairman of Coldiretti, and Mauro Tonello, chairman of Consorzi Agrari d’Italia (CAI), for the creation of innovative agro-industrial chains to create short-chain biolubricants and bioplastics.
Matrìca, the 50/50 joint venture between Versalis (Eni) and Novamont, hosted today the International Open Day, a chance for the European Stakeholders attending the third Bioeconomy Conference held in Turin to visit the newly-built plant at Porto Torres, the bio-run industrial complex utilizing the latest technologies and vegetable oils as raw materials. The project was conceived back in 2011 with the objective of converting the petrochemical plant at Porto Torres into one of the most innovative, integrated green chemistry industrial project at world level.
From thistle a new era for the agricultural and industrial value chains. An innovative business model, which combines the industrial needs of Matrica, a joint venture between Versalis-Eni and Novamont, with those of farmers located in northern Sardinia. An agro industrial relationship model, aimed at creating a integrated value chain rooted in the territory in synergy with local biodiversity. These the key issues discussed last Monday in Porto Torres at the second technical meeting on thistle which was attended by numerous high level representatives of the Sardinian agricultural world and by representatives of research and local institutions, including the mayor of Porto Torres, Beniamino Scarpa, and the dean of the University of Sassari, Attilio Mastino.
È il giorno della bioeconomia italiana a Bruxelles. Nella sede del Parlamento europeo si terrà oggi il convegno “BioPlastics: A case study of Bioeconomy in Italy in the light of Horizon 2020”, promosso dal Kyoto club con il patrocinio del nostro ministero dell’Ambiente.
Obiettivo: illustrare come l’Italia stia delineando una strategia capace di dare un nuovo impulso al potenziale di innovazione del paese e di sviluppare il settore della bioeconomia.
L’adozione di misure ”market pull” che incentivano la produzione e l’utilizzo di prodotti biodegradabili da materie prime rinnovabili ha dato vita ad importanti investimenti in tecnologie innovative e bioraffinerie (come quella di Porto Torres gestita da Matrìca, la joint venture tra Versalis-Eni e Novamont attiva nel campo della chimica verde, nella foto) e sta generando ricadute positive per l’intera società in termini di riduzione dei rifiuti e di introduzione di criteri di sostenibilità nelle scelte di consumo dei cittadini. Attraverso la presentazione dell’esempio italiano, la conferenza intende dimostrare che l’efficienza delle risorse non rappresenta soltanto un’esigenza strategica per l’Europa, ma anche una vera e propria opportunità dal punto di vista economico, capace di rilanciare la crescita in aree affette da profonda crisi.
“The Bioeconomy needs to start from local areas and act in synergy with ecosystems and biodiversity. In this respect the Italian case is a cutting edge demonstrative example ”. To say it is Catia Bastioli, Ceo of Novamont, the company of Novara, in Italy, world leader in the field of biodegradable products, thanks to the use of plant materials and renewable energy sources with low environmental impact. In this long exclusive interview, the entrepreneur of Umbrian origin, who, among other things, awarded the “2007 European Inventor of the year Award” for her patents for Mater-Bi the bioplastics commercialized by Novamont, talks about bioeconomy and green economy, the emerging cluster of green chemistry, but above all she gives us a vision and a strategy. “We need – tells us Bastioli – to encourage the creation of a bioeconomy not based on subsidies but based on cutting edge applications which respect stringent standards and which can contribute to lower pressure on the planet limited resources”.
Interview by Mario Bonaccorso
IL BIOECONOMISTA 