Substances of High Concern, be gone!

Substances of very high concern, you might think of these as drugs, explosives, e-cigarettes, and certain items found in teenage bedrooms that fumigation may be a cure for. It’s actually a group of chemical substances that are any of the following: carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction or persistent, and bioaccumulative. It’s not often we can wave a single wand and away from our windows fly the so-called SVHCs. 

But here’s the BioImpulse project, which was announced in the EU and instantly disappeared under a pile of Brexit analyses, which aims to create a new adhesive resin. Coordinated by Michelin through its ResiCare entity, this collaborative project brings together major public and private players: FCBA, INRA1 and INSA, as well as Lesaffre through its Leaf business unit. 

Industrial adhesive resins have traditionally contained SVHC classified compounds. The global market targeted by their substitution represents significant potential, mainly in the automotive and construction markets.

The main objectives of the BioImpulse project:

• Create a new adhesive resin without any SVHC compound, with an improved impact on both health and the environment

• Develop an industrial scale fermentation production process of a molecule of interest at a lower cost than its oil-based equivalent

• Promote the new adhesive resin technology in the automotive and construction markets (wood in particular)

• Produce this resin in small, compact and decentralized plants, as close as possible to customers, reducing its complexity and implementation costs.

It’s a 6 year, €28.1 millionproject. Construction of the 1st industrial production unit is planned for 2026 (depending on the industrial context and the market at the time). 

Michelin CEO Florent Menegaux said,: “With this research project carried out in collaboration with our partners, Michelin continues to demonstrate its commitment to the environment, including outside the tyre industry, by making its expertise in the field of sustainable materials available to industry as a whole.”