26 May 202521 May 2025 India launches first cluster of CCU testbeds in academia-industry collaboration for cement industry Carbon Capture Utilisation (CCU) holds significant importance in hard-to-abate sectors in reducing emissions by capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes and converting it to value add products
23 May 202523 May 2025 The transition to green chemistry: ‘Circularity is a team sport’ In the north of the Netherlands, various scaleups are building factories there to recycle plastic and make indispensable chemicals more sustainably
22 May 202520 May 2025 Pilot Chemical Company Announces Exclusive Partnership with Novvi LLC to Bring Biobased Alpha Olefin Sulfonate Surfactant Technology to the North American Market This partnership leverages Novvi’s bio alpha olefin technology and commercial-scale feedstock supply with Pilot’s reputation as a leading alpha olefin sulfonator and anionic surfactant provider
Turning waste into value: Borealis delivers circular breakthroughs in 2024 Borealis’ significant increase in circular production capacity in 2024 was underpinned by a number of strategic investments and acquisitions
19 May 202519 May 2025 From Emissions to Innovation: Webinar on CO₂-Derived Chemicals Recent advances and innovations in Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) technologies are making it feasible to transform CO₂ into a wide range of products, ranging from base chemicals to advanced fuels
15 May 20259 May 2025 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
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 20259 May 2025 New methodology to transform CO2 emissions into feedstock for chemical industry EU-project VIVALDI's proposal consists of capturing, purifying and transforming CO₂ emissions of key bioindustry sectors (food, paper, bioethanol and biochemical products)
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
12 May 20256 May 2025 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 HYCO1 Signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Malaysia LNG Sdn. Bhd. to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Utilization Project in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia The Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) Project will be located in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, the home of Malaysia LNG Sdn. Bhd. (MLNG; a subsidiary of PETRONAS), which is the CO2 supplier for the project
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
7 May 20252 June 2025 From Emissions to Solutions: CO₂-Based Graphite, Plastics, and Methanol win big at “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2025” Innovation Award UP Catalyst, Far Eastern New Century Corporation, and Oxylus Energy were recognised at the “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2025” Innovation Award for transforming carbon emissions into high-performance battery materials, sustainable plastics for footwear and textiles, and methanol fuel, marking major strides toward a renewable carbon future
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
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
5 May 202528 April 2025 Sekab named one of Europe’s climate leaders by the Financial Times – for the second year in a row The list highlights companies that have significantly reduced their greenhouse gas emissions and are transparent in their climate reporting
2 May 202525 April 2025 Kennesaw State researcher tackling sustainability through use of transparent wood Researcher Bharat Baruah and alumna Ridham Raval from the Kennesaw State University are developing entirely natural materials to replace epoxy in transparent wood products
30 April 202524 April 2025 Lignin: a sustainable solution for future energy storage The SmartRecovery project aimed to transition Finnish industries towards bio-based solutions by facilitating the commercialisation of lignin and introducing new lignin-based products to the market
17 April 202511 April 2025 lululemon Announces New Collaboration with ZymoChem to Advance and Scale Bio-Based Nylon Together, lululemon and ZymoChem will sustainably transform a key building block of nylon 6,6 – a foundational material used in many of lululemon’s iconic products
NEXT-STEP: recyclable products from wood production residues for everyday applications EU-Project aims to develop a new chemical platform, that will improve the sustainability and recyclability of polyurethane products and unlock new engineering plastic applications for polylactic acid
16 April 20255 May 2025 How to Defossilise the Chemical Industry: RCI’s new policy proposals for a Renewable Carbon Future New report presents policy proposals designed to accelerate the transition to renewable carbon in feedstocks and materials
15 April 20259 April 2025 Is CO₂ the Key to a More Sustainable Chemical and Fuel Industry? Innovative Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) technologies can convert captured CO₂ from industrial point sources and direct air capture into chemical base materials such as methanol, ethanol, ethylene or even polyols and other polymer building blocks
Clariant’s MegaMax™ 900 catalyst: Powerful start at European Energy’s e-methanol plant The facility is one of the world’s first and largest commercial e-methanol plant, using biogenic CO2 and green hydrogen to produce up to 42,000 tons of green methanol annually
14 April 20258 April 2025 Researchers convert captured biogenic CO2 into raw materials for plastics The Forest CUMP research project with VTT and LUT University sought to find out how different technologies could create renewable plastic raw materials using carbon dioxide and green hydrogen
11 April 20257 April 2025 Sekab proves carbon-negativity of their chemicals Using the ISO14067 standard, the company can now quantify the exact CO₂ savings for its customers in industries such as coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and food production
9 April 20253 April 2025 Europe’s Industry Up Against the Wall: Cefic President Urges EU Leaders to Act on 10-Point Rescue Plan for Chemicals Another industry is in crisis: Europe’s chemical industry - without immediate, targeted action, more production sites will shut down, investments will move elsewhere, and Europe will fall further behind global competitors
New green chemistry extracts valuable compounds from plant waste Innovative catalytic approach could be the key to extracting high-value molecules from waste lignin
8 April 20252 April 2025 ChainCraft and Eternis Fine Chemicals to develop low-carbon aroma chemicals The partners will focus on exploring and commercializing innovative applications for ChainCraft’s SensiCraft® range of fatty acids
3 April 202528 March 2025 Clariant Climate Campaign winner GNFC cuts 44,000 tons/month CO2e emissions with EnviCat N2O removal catalyst The EnviCat N2O-S, a well-established, drop-in solution effectively removes N2O and other nitrogen oxides, designed as a drop-in solution that can be easily installed without disrupting manufacturing processes
2 April 20258 October 2025 Compass for the defossilization of the petrochemical industry in Germany Together with the Wuppertal Institute, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the German Biomass Research Center, the University of Kassel is outlining how the industry can manage without crude oil in the long term
1 April 202526 March 2025 Aramco launches Saudi Arabia’s first CO2 Direct Air Capture test unit Pilot plant established with Siemens Energy assessing commercial scale-up of emissions-reduction technologies
Boreal Bioproducts Introduces LigNoFog® – A Breakthrough in Lignin Processing for Anti-Fog Applications Unique proprietary method enables lignin to mix well with water without affecting its other properties and enables lignin to be incorporated in various applications where it was previously difficult to integrate
31 March 20251 April 2025 Showcase Your Innovation: Apply for the “Renewable Material of the Year 2025“ Award The unique concept of showcasing all renewable materials solutions in one event covers the entire value chain from alternative carbon feedstocks in any applications
BASF commissions 54-megawatt water electrolyzer Designed to produce zero-carbon hydrogen, the electrolyzer has the capacity to supply the main plant in Ludwigshafen with up to one metric ton of this substantial chemical feedstock every hour
Future demand: opportunities for chemicals to capture growth Global research indicates that more than half of consumers are motivated to purchase eco-friendly products and are increasingly willing to pay a premium price for them
28 March 202531 March 2025 Monthly news from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), March 2025 Let's take a look at what happened in March 2025 at RCI:
Green Methanol: C1 secures another €20 million to commercialize the circular raw material of the future C1 will use the capital raised to build the world's first demonstration plant for homogeneously catalyzed methanol
25 March 202518 March 2025 Accelerating the shift from fossil to circular carbon During the panel discussions at an online event in the beginnings of March, Alfa Laval deep-dive into critical topics in the industry
24 March 202517 March 2025 Futerro launches engineering for its future European biorefinery The company aims to develop a green chemistry and a renewable polymers sector, reducing the carbon footprint of French industry
21 March 202517 March 2025 ELIX Polymers, in partnership with Repsol and AnQore, has produced 100% recycled products All three companies believe that long-term partnerships across the entire supply chain are necessary to achieve sustainability goals and offer products that are manufactured using more sustainable materials
20 March 202520 March 2025 “Best CO2 Utilisation 2025”: Celebrating Pioneering Innovation in Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies Six Innovative Technologies Redefining the Future of Carbon Capture and Utilisation at the CO2-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2025
19 March 202517 March 2025 ReSource Raises $15M to Develop Safer and More Sustainable Plastics Backed by Khosla Ventures and Fathom Fund, the company’s novel manufacturing technology aims to unlock scalable alternatives to traditional plastics and petrochemicals
Breaking ground for circular economy: SUSTAINEXT biorefinery construction begins The future SUSTAINEXT project is turning an existing production plant into a digitalised circular biorefinery to produce healthy ingredients from local medicinal and aromatic plants and agricultural sidestreams
Enzymes and metal unlock plant feedstock in Solugen’s Bioforge Solugen’s major innovation is a manufacturing tool named Bioforge that blends metal catalysts with enzymes to produce industrial chemicals from plants. We profile the company from its beginnings
14 March 202510 March 2025 The world’s first biomass-balanced polyethersulfone (PESU) The BASF ISCC zertified PESU is identical to the standard grade in properties, quality, and certification for e.g., food and water contact
OCOchem prepares to flip the switch on tech for turning captured CO2 into industrial chemicals OCOchem will start using its electrolyzer cells to turn CO2 into formic acid and other formate compounds to replace petroleum as a feedstock for products such as clean hydrogen fuel, animal feed and fertilizer
7 March 20253 March 2025 Orion S.A. signs supply agreement for tire pyrolysis oil with Contec S.A. The agreement with Warsaw, Poland-based Contec further enables Orion to diversify its sources of tire pyrolysis oil, commonly known as TPO
ICO₂NIC Project Kicks Off in Brussels: Transforming CO₂ Waste into Value The project’s ultimate goal is to make Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) more economically viable, reducing energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and supporting industrial sustainability
3 March 202524 February 2025 Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsubishi Electric Start Collaboration for Use of Biomass Plastics in Home Appliances It is essential to develop alternative materials to petroleum-derived plastics and technologies and products which leads to reduction of CO2 emissions