Category: Chemicals & Materials

PLANETech World 2022 to use UBQ materials 

PLANETech World 2022 to use UBQ materials 

September 8, 2022 |

In Israel, UBQ Materials announced that PLANETech World 2022 will be the first global conference to incorporate its new material, UBQ, into temporary building structures.  The global climate tech innovation community will gather in Tel Aviv on September 21, 2022, marking the first time a trade event will reduce the carbon footprint of its own […]

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VGrid Energy Systems gets USDA Certified Biobased Product label

VGrid Energy Systems gets USDA Certified Biobased Product label

September 8, 2022 |

In California, VGrid Energy Systems announced that it has earned the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified Biobased Product label.  The product, Persist Biochar, is now able to display a unique USDA label that highlights its percentage of biobased content. The USDA Certified Biobased Product label displays a product’s biobased content, which is the portion […]

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Michael Stipe to release Shiny Happy bioplastic record

Michael Stipe to release Shiny Happy bioplastic record

September 5, 2022 |

In the United Kingdom, R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe is set to release a solo single that will be the world’s first widely available bioplastic vinyl.  Called Future if Future, the song will be included on a limited run of 500 vinyl records manufactured by London’s Evolution Music. The single will also be available digitally, […]

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Bridgestone races ahead with guayule rubber

Bridgestone races ahead with guayule rubber

September 5, 2022 |

In Arizona, tire major Bridgestone has announced it will invest another $42 million—on top of the over $100 million it has already spent—to commercialize natural rubber from the guayule desert shrub by 2030 and achieve 100% renewable tires by 2050.  The funds will establish planting and harvesting guayule at scale. Bridgestone will also collaborate and […]

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Golf off your yacht guilt-free with dissolvable balls

Golf off your yacht guilt-free with dissolvable balls

September 5, 2022 |

In Vancouver, a new company hopes to make your weekends and retirement a bit greener with biodegradable golf balls made from corn starch and PVA coating.  Imaginatively named Biodegradable Golf Balls, the company says in a press statement that its balls dissolve within a couple of weeks—unlike the several hundred thousand golf balls that disappear […]

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Seaweed tampon startup launches crowdfunding campaign

Seaweed tampon startup launches crowdfunding campaign

September 5, 2022 |

In Berlin, sustainable feminine hygiene firm Vyld has launched a crowdfunding campaign to scale production of tampons made of algae.  According to Femtech Insider, 300 million people menstruate every day, and about 90% of period products are disposable, leading to massive amounts of pollution.  Vyld’s tampons, dubbed Kelpon, do not require fertilizers, pesticides, or drinkable […]

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Put some zip in your step with coffee ground sneakers

Put some zip in your step with coffee ground sneakers

September 5, 2022 |

In France, zero-waste fashion startup Zèta and coffee giant Nespresso have released a shoe collection using recycled coffee grounds.  Called Re:Ground, the shoes came about after the CEO of Nespresso, Guillaume Le Cunff, came across Zèta on LinkedIn in January 2021, Laure Babin, founder of Zèta, tells Global Coffee Report. “He was intrigued by our […]

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Mermade Seafoods raises $3.3 million for lab-grown scallops

Mermade Seafoods raises $3.3 million for lab-grown scallops

September 5, 2022 |

In Israel, cultivated seafood startup Mermade Seafoods says it has closed a $3.3-million seed funding to commercialize lab-grown scallops.  Founded in 2021 by navy veteran Daniel Einhorn and venture capitalists Dr. Rotem Kadir and Dr. Tomer Halevy—company CEO, CTO, and COO, respectively—Mermade’s cellular agricultural process is somewhat unique in that it is also circular. Water, […]

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Crab shell electrolyte could yield greener batteries

Crab shell electrolyte could yield greener batteries

September 5, 2022 |

In Maryland and Texas, researchers have found that an electrolyte extracted from crab shells can be used to produce batteries.  In a recent study published in the journal Matter, the group from the Universities of Maryland and Houston say the chitosan-Zn electrolyte enables high-rate and durable Zn-metal batteries.  The material also biodegrades in just five […]

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Technip Energies buys DSM’s biobased succinic acid technology

Technip Energies buys DSM’s biobased succinic acid technology

September 5, 2022 |

In France, Technip Energies has acquired DSM’s Biosuccinium® technology for producing biobased succinic acid, which can in turn be used manufacture biodegradable polymer polybutylene succinate.  The purchase includes a wide range of patent families and proprietary yeast strains, which have been demonstrated, at scale, in licensees’ production facilities.  “This addition to our growing sustainable chemicals […]

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