In Paris, biotech start-up Faircraft has announced the acquisition of key assets from U.S.-based VitroLabs, a pioneering player in the lab-grown leather industry that was backed early on by A-list actor Leonardo DiCaprio and luxury goods major Kering. The deal gives Faircraft access to VitroLabs’ portfolio of 35 patents related to in vitro leather technology. […]
In the United Kingdom, Teysha Technologies is supplying four former special forces soldiers with biodegradable sunglasses as they attempt a world record on the world’s highest peak. Summiting Everest and returning to base camp typically takes two months, but the team will attempt the journey in just a week. By significantly shortening the expedition timeline, […]
In Texas, nonprofit industrial biomanufacturing accelerator BioWell has officially assumed operations of Texas BioTechnology’s pilot plant in Richmond, TX. The U.S. bioindustrial manufacturing sector faces a scale-up bottleneck due to limited pilot- and demonstration-scale infrastructure, often forcing companies to go abroad and risk losing domestic R&D and intellectual property. “Pilot facilities are critical for de-risking and […]
In Washington, DC, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Congressman Zach Nunn (R-IA) have introduced the Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at expanding biofuel and biobased manufacturing opportunities across the United States. The proposed legislation modernizes the USDA’s Section 9003 program by increasing access to grants, streamlining the loan guarantee process, […]
In Cincinnati, Pilot Chemical Company has partnered with Novvi LLC to introduce a new line of sustainable surfactants—biobased alpha olefin sulfonates—to the North American market. The technology, branded as CalCare® AOS, offers a renewable, high-performance alternative to conventional synthetic surfactants used in household, industrial & institutional, and personal care applications. Under the agreement, Pilot Chemical […]
In Switzerland, researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have developed a biodegradable, fish food-based aquatic robot that could revolutionize environmental monitoring in fragile ecosystems. The research, which was published in Nature Communications, introduces a small, boat-shaped robot powered by entirely edible components. By mimicking the Marangoni effect — the same surface tension trick […]
In Finland, Metsä Group and global packaging giant Amcor have announced a strategic partnership to develop recyclable, fiber-based packaging solutions for food. The collaboration brings together Metsä’s wood-based molder fiber innovation, Muoto™, and Amcor’s advanced high-barrier lidding and liner technologies to create a functional, recyclable alternative to plastic. The new packaging solution is designed to […]
The spring conference season is starting to draw to a close, what are the takeaways from the major presentations of the season? Here are our top 10 Takeaways for renewable chemicals and biomaterials project development and product deployment in 2025: 1. Offtake Agreements are Crucial for Bankability: Securing firm offtake agreements from reliable buyers is […]
In the Netherlands, a consortium of companies is looking to grow material similar to that of T-Rex skin to create a truly unique leather alternative. Using fossilized T-Rex collagen as a blueprint, VML, Lab-Grown Leather Ltd. and The Organoid Company are combining their expertise in genomic engineering and advanced tissue engineering to create a high-performing […]
In California, waste from Chick-fil-A’s lemon juice supplier could one day be used to produce bioplastics. Bay Center Foods, which provides all of the lemon juice used by the popular fast food chain, has a zero-waste processing philosophy, Kurt Cahill, Executive Director, Upstream Production Solutions, at Bay Center Foods tells Food and Drink. Currently, the […]
