In Delaware, a company called Perennial Polymers has developed a process to extract the lignin and cellulose from fallen leaves collected by nearby cities to create a biodegradable plastic. Perennial Polymers sidesteps two key cost barriers in bioplastics, founder Nathan Noyes told Fast Company: reliance on food-grade agricultural feedstocks and expensive fermentation processes. Urban leaves […]
In Denmark, cellulose-based materials firm Cellugy has scaled production of its biobased skincare ingredients by a factor of ten. Cellugy uses microbial fermentation to produce biobased exopolysaccharides that provide thickening, stabilization, sensory and bioactive benefits as alternatives to petrochemical- and microplastic-based ingredients. Its first product, EcoFLEXY Rheo, is a cellulose-based rheology modifier for personal care that […]
In Germany, forestry-based materials maker UPM has inaugurated a much-anticipated biorefinery in Leuna. The site converts lignocellulosic biomass, primarily wood from sustainably managed forests and sawmill residues, into biochemicals. With an annual capacity of 220,000 metric tons, the €1.37-billion (USD$1.54-billion) facility is the largest of its kind in the world. Enzymatic hydrolysis and the production of lignin-derived […]
In California, engineered microbes firm Switch Bioworks has partnered with Bayer Crop Science to advance Switch Bioworks’ genetic switch technology for creating nitrogen fertilizer on the plant root. Biological nitrogen has been one of agriculture’s most promising frontiers. However, the field has faced a stubborn technical trade-off: microbes engineered to produce nitrogen fertilizer can struggle […]
In Vietnam, Hyosung has achieved production of 50,000 metric tons per year of biobased 1,4-butanediol by fermenting sugars derived from sugarcane. Bio-BDO is supplied to the company’s Dong Nai operations and converted into polytetramethylene ether glycol, a key intermediate used to manufacture regen™ BIO spandex, also known as elastane. As part of a planned $1 billion […]
In the United Kingdom, an Oxford University spinout has raised $8 million in the first close of its Series A financing to advance its enzyme-based catalysts, which are designed to make chemical manufacturing more cost-effective and less polluting. The funds will enable HydRegen to expand collaboration with existing customers in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical […]
In Germany, AI biotech company Differential Bio and FermBase by CREMER, a supplier of fermentation media and raw materials, have formed a strategic partnership to help fermentation companies accelerate process development and scale-up. The partnership combines Differential Bio’s robotic laboratory automation and machine learning capabilities with FermBase’s expertise in raw materials, product development and supply […]
In Massachusetts, CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and a primary producer of polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers, has partnered with Dongsung Chemical to create the first PHA-based hotmelt adhesive available in the US market. Designed for packaging applications, the ECOVIVA® Hotmelt Adhesive is optimized for cosmetics packaging, household goods, electronics, and other consumer […]
In Maine, a research team at University of Maine has converted waste lobster shells into biodegradable bioplastic golf tees. “[The tees] will actually add nutrients to the soil from the binder itself, and then the lobster shell also has nutrients,” UMaine graduate student Isabelle Irani told News Center Maine. And because a golf tee’s purpose is […]
In Miami, Restoration Partners, LLC, the exclusive distributor of Basilisk self-healing concrete products in the Americas, will present biobased self-healing concrete technology at National Ready Mixed Concrete Association’s ConcreteWorks 2026, set to take place takes place October 15–18 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Basilisk Self-Healing Agent is an admixture that contains dormant bacterial spores and nutrients. […]
