Pencil with a point: Danish company replaces eraser with seeds
In Denmark, Sprout World has developed pencils that contain seeds instead of an eraser—enabling consumers to grow vegetable, herbs, or flowers instead of tossing...
Hemp plant bringing much-needed jobs to Ohio town
In Ohio, a new, hemp-based building materials plant is expected to bring hundreds of jobs to economically depressed Glenville.
North Coast Natural Solutions says it...
Amyris squalane plant undamaged by Hurricane Florence
In North Carolina, Amyris says its Leland joint venture facility does not appear damaged from Hurricane Florence and that most employees have reported to...
Snack guilt-free with biobased chip packaging
In Germany, snack maker myCHIPSBOX is using compostable, biobased films made of wood pulp in its chip bags. The packaging was designed by Futarama...
Firmenich adds biotech sweetener company for $73 million
In Switzerland, Firmenich has agreed to buy fermentation-based sweetener Senomyx for $73 million, or $1.50/share in cash—a 43% premium of the company’s closing price...
“Minimalist” shoes a step toward greener living
In San Diego, self-described “barefoot” and “minimalist” shoe maker VIVOBAREFOOT is planning a new product line made with polymer made from industrial field corn.
Dubbed...
PepsiCo joins biobased bottle consortium
In New York, soda-and-snack giant PepsiCo has joined the NaturALL Bottle alliance, a consortium of entities looking to develop bioplastic bottles.
The alliance was formed...
Danimer creates biodegradable straw as bans proliferate
In Georgia, Danimer Scientific says it has created the world’s first fully biodegradable straw using its Nodax™ polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymer. The innovation comes as many...
Dutch partnership to produce chemicals from sunlight and carbon dioxide
In the Netherlands, AkzoNobel and Photanol are planning to build a demonstration plant for Photanol’s cyanobacteria technology.
Photanol’s process uses cyanobacteria to convert sunlight and...
DuPont completes Sorona expansion
In North Carolina, DuPont Industrial Biosciences has completed an expansion of its Kinston biopolymer facility. The investment increased capacity by 25% and will help...