In Iowa, BioMADE announced its plans to establish and operate a new pilot-scale bioindustrial manufacturing facility near Ames. The 15,000 sq. ft. multi-user facility will include up to 10,000-liter industrial fermenters, dry and wet lab space, and downstream processing capabilities centered around the development of agricultural bioproducts, chemicals, and food. At a total project value […]
In Finland, Stora Enso has brought Europe’s most modern consumer packaging board production line online in Oulu. The new, €1.1-billion line will serve the growing demand for renewable packaging globally and contributes to the transition to a circular bioeconomy. The mill produces folding boxboard, kraftliners, paper bag material, and unbleached softwood pulp. Board materials are […]
In Illinois, CO2 electrolysis and conversion firm OCOchem has partnered with agribusiness giant ADM to build a field demonstration plant using OCOchem’s Carbon FluX Electrolyzer technology. The plant will be co-located within ADM’s corn processing complex in Decatur, Illinois and will convert biogenic CO2 from ADM’s ethanol production stream to formate molecules, which can be […]
In the UK, Central Saint Martins graduate Noé Chouraqui has created Point, a 3D-printed tennis ball made from biobased and recyclable materials. Conventional tennis balls contain synthetic rubber and take up to 400 years to break down in the environment. According to Chouraqui, over 300 million tennis balls are produced annually. Most end up in […]
In London, Central Saint Martins graduate Hinna Khan has created a simple electronic device from conductive wool. Dubbed WoolTech, Khan was able to replace petroleum-based materials traditionally used to make wires and circuit boards with wool that was laser-treated to possess conductive pathways. The wool that was not treated with the laser formed natural insulation. […]
In France, a flax-fiber composite is finding a home in rackets for padel, a fast-growing sport that marries tennis and squash. Dubbed TeXtreme R Biobased-Flax®, the material is lightweight and dampens vibrations, making it ideal for Europe’s answer to pickleball. EcoTechnilin, a division of the agricultural cooperative NatUp, provides the premium flax fibers to Oxeon, […]
In Michigan, Cross Plains Solutions has developed a soybean-based alternative to Aqueous Film-Forming Foam, a firefighting foam that contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Dubbed SoyFoam TF 1122, CPS’ material was developed with funding from the United Soybean Board. It is PFAS free, biodegradable, and 70% biobased. Patrick Butler, a former firefighter and co-owner of PK […]
In Seoul, researchers at Kyunghee University have developed a biodegradable battery using coffee grounds. Led by Jin Seong-hoon, a professor at KU’s Department of Information Display, the team found that using coffee grounds as a frame material around magnesium alloy and molybdenum trioxide electrodes created a stable battery that biodegrades within 60 days. Applications include […]
In Europe, Tiderock Companies has signed a Master Exclusive Distribution Agreement with NextGen Bioplastics that grants Tiderock exclusive rights to distribute NextGen’s bioplastic products across European Union, Great Britain, and Ireland. The deal leverages Tiderock’s established market relationships across quick service restaurants, food producers and transportation companies, to capitalize on the Europe’s accelerating shift to […]
In the Netherlands, juice maker Hoogesteger has signed a conditional offtake agreement for polyethylene furanoate biopolymer produced by Avantium. PEF has an oxygen barrier far better than polyethylene terephthalate, the petrochemical currently used in many bottling applications. PEF also maintains its mechanical strength at thinner extrusions than PET. This means the switch to PEF will […]
