20 May 202519 May 2025 Innovative accelerated biodegradation test that cuts evaluation time by two thirds The plastics industry is moving towards a more sustainable model, driven by circular economy principles and innovation in biodegradable and compostable materials
Naphtha no longer competitive feedstock: Braskem Brazil-based petrochemical producer Braskem is pursuing a strategic shift in polymers production by favoring natural gas liquid (NGL) feedstocks and moving away from naphtha
Evaluation of the substitution of polyethylene for polylactic acid in sanitary pads through life cycle assessment While sustainable alternatives to traditional pads exist, they are not widely adopted due to their low level of commoditization
Stabil, leicht, CO2-speichernd: Hölzerne Hohlprofile für die Industrie nehmen Fahrt auf Verschiedene Forschungsansätze, ein Ziel: Mit Vollholz und Holzwerkstoffen neue Anwendungsbereiche erschließen
19 May 202519 May 2025 The development of renewable ethanol biorefineries as a strategic resource to accelerate the transition towards a competitive low-carbon economy The debate was moderated by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Senior Network Editor at Euractiv
16 May 202516 May 2025 Neue Lederalternative: ohne Plastik, vegan und biologisch abbaubar Das Darmstädter Startup Revoltech GmbH hat eine neue Lederalternative entwickelt
Biomaterials are back on the green investment agenda Biomaterials companies received $392 million in funds in the first three months of 2025 alone
Houston Biomanufacturing Accelerator Partners with Pilot Facility to Expand Lab and Production Capacity The facility will offer on-site education and workforce development, including hands-on lab training and potential instruction on relevant equipment and procedures for students and incumbent workers
15 May 202515 May 2025 Circular Economy in Transition: Discovering new Technologies and Markets Free nova Session on Emerging Technologies, Markets, and Strategies for a Renewable Carbon Future
Free Webinar: Solar-driven Pyrolysis of Biomass: Insights, Experiences and Challenges In a free webinar for students and early-career scientists on 26 June 2025 (13:00-15:00 CET), five experts from the PYSOLO project will provide insights into their current work and latest results
Expanded PLA – a new type of molded foams TotalEnergies Corbion and Useon Partner to Accelerate Industrial Adoption of PLA Foam Technology
AFYREN and Südzucker Celebrate 5 Years of Strategic Bioeconomy Partnership Afyren and Südzucker have agreed to extend their long-term partnership to advance a sustainable, biobased and circular chemical production
Afyren und Südzucker setzen strategische Bioökonomie-Partnerschaft fort Afyren und Südzucker haben vereinbart, ihre langjährige Partnerschaft fortzusetzen, um eine nachhaltige, biobasierte und zirkuläre Produktion von Chemikalien entsprechend den Zielen der EU für den ökologischen Wandel voranzutreiben
Celebrating 15 Years of I’m greenTM bio-based with operation rates above nameplate capacity after expansion Braskem has reached 275,000 tons/year of green ethylene, 37% above the production capacity compared to the initial project in 2010
14 May 202513 May 2025 Free Deep Dive Webinar: Is There Enough Biomass to Defossilise the Chemicals and Derived Materials Sector by 2050? Recent RCI/BIC study shows biomass demand of the chemical industry can be met by 2050 – findings to be presented in a webinar on 26 May
Wood Group: Projektierung der Biokunststoffanlage von Vioneo Die Anlage kann 300 Kilotonnen hochwertiges Polyethylen oder Polypropylen pro Jahr aus grünem Methanol produzieren
New GRECO project on greener and safer bioplastics for food packaging 21 partners that have joined forces to develop and implement “Innovative biobased, biodegradable, recyclable, safe, and circular food packaging” under the lead of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Scientists discover a new way to convert corn waste into low-cost sugar for biofuel Researchers collaboration developed a process that pretreats corn stover, which allows enzymes to break down cellulosic polymers into sugar, that can then be fermented into biofuels and bioproducts
‘Misleading’ compostability claims lead to ban of coffee product search ads The Advertising Standards Authority found that Lavazza Coffee and Dualit would imply a home compostable packaging, but the pods pods are only certified as industrially compostable
Multilayer biocomposite vegan leather materials derived from vegetable-tanned fungal biomass cultivated on food waste In this study, the researchers used the filamentous fungus Rhizopus delemar cultivated on bread waste, which produces multilayer fungal biocomposites as a promising vegan alternative leather
13 May 20257 May 2025 Solena raises $6.7m to create next-gen textiles using AI and synthetic biology Imperial spinout will scale activity to create a new generation of sustainable, high-performance textiles using an entirely new class of fibres
HUGO BOSS introduces NovaPoly as a yarn made from recycled textile waste Textile waste, enhanced with a natural additive that mimics the natural behaviour of fibres in the environment, becomes biodegradable
12 May 20256 May 2025 Country Overshoot Day on 3 May: How methane and CO₂ can help tackle plastic pollution At Leipzig University innovative approaches are being explored to address the growing scarcity of resources in the face of a rising global population - through sustainable production processes and circular economy technologies
Country Overshoot Day am 3. Mai 2025: Wie mit Hilfe von Methan und CO₂ der Plastikverschmutzung begegnet werden kann An der Universität Leipzig werden innovative Ansätze erforscht, um der wachsenden Ressourcenknappheit bei gleichzeitig steigender Weltbevölkerung durch nachhaltige Produktionsprozesse und kreislauforientierte Technologien zu begegnen
Bcomp Collaborates With Siux to Serve up Sustainable Innovation in Padel With New GEA Racket A bold new chapter for padel begins as flax fibre composites enter the court in Siux rackets
Exclusive: Greek startup Coffeeco Upcycle raises €715K to turn coffee waste into skincare and bioplastics This milestone enables Coffeeco to expand across Europe and the U.S., while scaling both its flagship Auraskin product line and its revolutionary approach to circular, science-backed innovation
Breaking the Cost Barrier on Biomanufacturing More than 4,100 of the world’s largest companies have established emissions-reduction targets, according to the Science Based Targets initiative, with more than 2,600 of them including net zero emissions commitments
9 May 20255 May 2025 BioMADE Finalizes $132M National Security Investment in Demonstration-Scale Biomanufacturing Facility in Minnesota The Maple Grove facility will be key in BioMADE’s national network of pilot- to demonstration-scale infrastructure to advance U.S. biomanufacturing and enhance national security
thyssenkrupp Uhde und Praj Industries Ltd. schließen strategische Partnerschaft, um die Produktion von Polymilchsäure (PLA) und die Kreislaufwirtschaft zu revolutionieren thyssenkrupp Uhde und Praj Industries Ltd. schließen strategische Partnerschaft
thyssenkrupp Uhde and Praj Industries Ltd join forces to revolutionize polylactic acid production and circular economy The indiscriminate use of fossil-based plastics and the often irresponsible disposal, especially of single-use plastics (SUPs), call for urgent, innovative, and sustainable solutions
Record-breaking efficiency achieved in all-organic solar cells! International researcher-collaboration now successfully developed all-organic solar cells with the world’s highest efficiency
8 May 20252 May 2025 OMV unveils Austria’s largest green hydrogen production plant This innovation leads to an annual savings of up to 15,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions* equivalent to the CO2 consumption of 2,000 persons per year
OMV startet Österreichs größte Produktionsanlage für grünen Wasserstoff Eingesetzt wird der grüne Wasserstoff zur Produktion von nachhaltigeren Kraftstoffen und Chemikalien, darunter nachhaltiger Flugkraftstoff (SAF) und erneuerbarer Diesel (HVO)
Braskem and Fitesa Announce the use of Braskem’s I’m greenTM Bio-Based Polyethylene Grade for Fitesa’s Nonwovens From sugarcane to innovative solutions for the nonwoven market, evolving supply capabilities, and introducing new features to better serve our clients
Sprießende Bio-Dämmstoffe: Ceresana präsentiert Marktstudie zu nachwachsenden Isoliermaterialien in Europa Die Baubranche erlebt gerade eine herausfordernde Phase - die Europäische Union zählt eine optimierte Wärmedämmung zu den Schwerpunkten der Aufbaupläne für den „grünen Wandel“ bis 2026
Sprouting Biobased Insulation Materials: Ceresana Presents Market Study on Renewable Insulation Materials The construction industry is currently experiencing a challenging phase, in the European Union, better thermal insulation is one of the priorities of the recovery and resilience plans for the “green transition” by 2026
Biodiesel consumption falls sharply again UFOP is calling on the new German government to abolish the double counting of biofuels from certain waste oils and fats, naming crop types or criteria for the required certification
7 May 202530 April 2025 Verbio in Bitterfeld: Construction progress on the new ethenolysis plant Construction of the new plant in Bitterfeld progressing apace / The first distillation column was built in November 2024 | Verbio will use a Nobel Prize-winning technology to manufacture renewable specialty chemicals in the future / Working for the climate: Verbio is recruiting new employees
Verbio in Bitterfeld: Bau der neuen Ethenolyse-Anlage schreitet voran Baufortschritt: Der größte Teil des Stahl- und Betonhochbaus ist fertiggestellt / Ethenolyse-Anlage von strategischer Bedeutung für Verbio / Erneuerbare Spezialchemikalien auf Basis einer Nobelpreistechnologie
Vioneo appoints Wood to design world’s first industrial scale fossil-free plastics facility The plant has the capacity to produce 300 kilotonnes per annum of high-quality, virgin polyethylene and polypropylene plastics made from green methanol and free of fossil feedstock
EU-Kommission startet Konsultation zur neuen Bioökonomie-Strategie Bis zum 15. Juli werden Meinungen von Unternehmen, Forschungseinrichtungen, Bürgern und anderen Interessengruppen gesammelt
Why paper packaging is better for the environment than plastic Paper packaging is becoming increasingly common in stores, supermarkets and delivery services - but its environmental harm remains limited
6 May 20256 May 2025 Monthly news from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), April 2025 Let's take a look at what happened in April 2025 at RCI:
Final Programme Available – The Renewable Materials Conference (RMC) World's largest conference on innovative and renewable chemicals, plastics and materials
Neste started producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its renewables refinery in Rotterdam, the Netherlands This expansion is scheduled to be completed in 2027 and will increase Neste’s total global annual renewable fuels production capacity to 6.8 million tons with a total annual SAF production capability of 2.2 million tons
Applying sustainable solutions to golf balls The biobased material ECOTRION from SK Chemicals was applied to the 2025 Z-Star series golf balls from SRIXON, a global golf brand under Dunlop Sports Korea
Why insect protein is creating a buzz in Brazil Brazil's entry into insect protein is only just beginning but with scaling, it could help drive greener global food systems
Biomaterials in construction: meet the startups reinventing our buildings In this article, we will explore the various up-and-coming biotechs making a mark in the construction field and how biomaterials could potentially transform a carbon-intensive industry
5 May 202528 April 2025 Ahlstrom receives home compostable certification in Australia and New Zealand for Sulpack® Flexible packaging Sulpack® is a PFAS-free parchment paper specifically developed for fresh and greasy applications and offers a natural grease barrier for packaging
PET-Recycling: Biochemiker gründen Startup Hohe Wiederverwertungsquote in Rekordzeit, neu entdecktes Enzym führt zur Ausgründung von der Universität Leipzig und zur jungen Firma ESTER Biotech