In Rwanda, telecommunications company MTN Rwanda is developing biodegradable SIM cards based on paper. According to the company, over 4 billion plastic SIM cards are produced annually. MTN Rwanda’s bioSIM cards are made from 100% Forest Stewardship Council-certified raw materials, meaning the paper comes from sustainably managed forests. SIM cards, or Subscriber Identity Module cards, […]
In Italy, researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia have developed a “biohybrid” robot from flour and oat fruit that can be filled with seeds and fertilizers to help reforestation. Dubbed HybriBot, the robot features “oat appendices” that move in the presence of air moisture, building elastic energy and replacing the need for batteries or other […]
In Germany, Verbio has broken ground on a biobased specialty chemicals plant at Bitterfeld. The €80-100 million (USD$87.2-109 million) site will use Novel Prize-winning ethenolysis technology to produce ingredients for detergents and cleaning agents; high-performance lubricants for engines; and plastics. The plant will use rapeseed oil methyl ester as feedstock. The rapeseed oil is first […]
In Thailand, leading polylactic acid producer NatureWorks has obtained a $350-million loan to finance its fully integrated PLA plant at the Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex. The loan, provided by Krungthai Bank PCL, will support both the construction and ongoing operations at the facility. The plant will utilize locally sourced sugarcane as feedstock. “This funding will enable […]
In Singapore, enzyme engineering firm Allozymes has secured $15 million in Series A funding. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its expansion into Europe, establish strategic partnerships across the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and life science industries, and build in-house capabilities for strain engineering, bioprocessing, and downstream processing. This will enable Allozymes to […]
In Boston, Circe Bioscience has licensed a gas fermentation technology from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute that can produce molecules identical to sugars, fats, biodegradable plastics, and biofuels, using only CO2, water, and electricity. Circe’s initial target products are triglycerides. The company has already produced the world’s first gas fermentation-derived chocolate and is exploring other fats, […]
In Colorado, Beyond Plastic and Eco Shot have developed a biobased material to replace petroleum-based polyethylene and polypropylene in shotgun wads. Wads are a critical component of shotgun shells and are discharged before separating from the rest of shell. They are often not retrievable, meaning hunters contribute to plastics waste in water and hunting preserves. […]
In Sweden, Apple has partnered with RISE research institute to develop a biobased foam with applications in packaging, insulation, and lightweight composites. According to RISE, the cellulose foam material has exhibited favorable properties, such as resistance to compression and a uniform and small pore size, which provides “an aesthetically pleasing structure.” The material is also […]
In Germany, Beyond Leather Materials has significantly expanded its capacity to produce Leap, a vegan leather made from European apple waste. Named for LEftover APples, Leap uses waste from apple juice and cider producers. Every square meter of Leap diverts 1.8 kg of apple waste from landfills and lowers waste management costs for the Beyond […]
In Taiwan, Dairen Chemical Corporation has joined The LYCRA Company and Qore in developing biobased LYCRA Fiber, commonly known as spandex. The three companies have signed a letter or intent to convert QIRA, a biobased 1,4-butanediol produced by Qore, into polytetramethylene ether glycol, a precursor to LYCRA fiber. The deal will make Dairen the first […]
