Category: Chemicals & Materials

Bay Area food tech promises cow-free pizza by 2023

Bay Area food tech promises cow-free pizza by 2023

June 14, 2021 |

In San Francisco, precision fermentation startup New Culture is targeting late 2023 for the launch of its animal-free mozzarella cheese. The company plans to partner with pizzerias to provide first access to the technology, which involves using fermentation to produce casein, the main protein in milk.  Co-founder Matt Gibson tells FoodNavigator that New Culture’s cow-free […]

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Hawaii algae innovator Kuehnle AgroSystems wins prize for dark fermentation fish food

Hawaii algae innovator Kuehnle AgroSystems wins prize for dark fermentation fish food

June 14, 2021 |

In Hawaii, algae-based technology company Kuehnle AgroSystems has won an award at the National Atlantic Seafood Forum’s Seafood Innovation Day for its astaxanthin fermentation technology. Kuehnle AgroSystems’s process manufactures astaxanthin for aquafeeds via dark fermentation, which provides higher volumes at lower cost compared to algae production methods using light. Being too scarce to use for […]

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Blood enzyme could hold key for self-healing concrete

Blood enzyme could hold key for self-healing concrete

June 14, 2021 |

In Massachusetts, researchers at  Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a promising technology for self-repairing concrete. The breakthrough could help cut down on the enormous amount of carbon emissions attributed to construction and infrastructure industries.  The key ingredient is carbonic anhydrase, an enzyme that transports CO2 out of human blood so it can be exhaled.  “Concrete […]

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Look fierce but eco-friendly with plant-based beauty blender

Look fierce but eco-friendly with plant-based beauty blender

June 7, 2021 |

In Illinois, sustainability-focused cosmetics brand EcoTools has introduced a renewable beauty blender that degrades in 180 days.  Beauty blenders have become a staple of makeup routines, particularly as a way to seamlessly blend foundation, concealer, and highlighter used in contouring techniques popularized by the Kardashians and other beauty influencers. Made from water, corn, natural preservative […]

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Vegan sneaker newcomer launches crowd-funding campaign

Vegan sneaker newcomer launches crowd-funding campaign

June 7, 2021 |

In Portugal, Undo for Tomorrow has launched a crowd-funding campaign for a vegan sneaker comprised of natural materials, including a bamboo lining, a tow cap made of natural rubber, and an insole made from castor oil.  Dubbed Nuven, the shoe also incorporates discarded party balloons, rubber tires, and vegan suede from recycled plastic. They are […]

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Swiss coffee capsules switch to bioplastic made from pulp and paper waste

Swiss coffee capsules switch to bioplastic made from pulp and paper waste

June 7, 2021 |

In Switzerland, Delica AG has begun selling coffee capsules made from renewable polypropylene.  Produced by chemical giant SABIC, the PP pods can be used with Delica’s Delizio capsule coffee machines. The PP is produced using tall oil, a waste product of the pulp and paper industry. Renewable content is “at least” 65% and can be […]

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China’s Xtep has big plans for PLA in clothing

China’s Xtep has big plans for PLA in clothing

June 7, 2021 |

In China, sporting goods brand Xtep has introduced t-shirts made from polylactic acid in an effort to cut down on the massive environmental footprint of textile and clothing manufacturing.  The clothes were made from PLA fiber produced from corn, straw and other starchy crops. The company also produces a PLA windbreaker, adding that it successfully […]

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3D-printed algae may solve Mars’ voyage air and energy challenge

3D-printed algae may solve Mars’ voyage air and energy challenge

June 7, 2021 |

In the Netherlands, a project led by Delft University of Technology has successfully printed photosynthetic biological material—a breakthrough that could one day help create colonies on Mars.  The “artificial leaves” were made from a particularly robust algae printed on bacterial cellulose. The algae could pull double duty for a Mars colony, producing oxygen to breathe […]

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North Carolina startup claims first cell-cultured human breast milk

North Carolina startup claims first cell-cultured human breast milk

June 7, 2021 |

In North Carolina, startup Biomilq is claiming the first cell-cultured human breast milk and advancing its process using human mammary cells.  Instead of targeting components within human breast milk, Biomilq aims to produce milk that closely matches the macronutrient profile of breast milk, including the correct types and proportions of proteins, complex carbohydrates, fatty acids, […]

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Fire up the grill: “Thick meat emulating products” could soon be a reality with bioprinting

Fire up the grill: “Thick meat emulating products” could soon be a reality with bioprinting

June 7, 2021 |

In Israel, cultured meat innovator MeaTech has filed a provisional US patent application for its bioprinting method. The application covers an in situ inkjet printing method in which bioink is deposited with “exceptional control” in multiple layers on sacrificial substrates. MeaTech believes the ability to precisely control droplet size, volume, and placement will enable the […]

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