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19 January 202615 January 2026

Recycling mixed-fibre garments becomes a reality: RadiciGroup, The LYCRA Company and Triumph take circular fashion a step forward

The process, which is both economically and environmentally sustainable, has enabled the production of an underwear set made from 100% recycled nylon and LYCRA® fibre in a closed-loop system

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Study finds savings potential across the onboard carbon capture value chain

Verified by DNV, the LCA quantifies GHG emissions and savings across the pilot’s entire carbon value chain, tracing CO2 captured and liquefied on an ocean-going container vessel to ship-to-ship and ship-to-truck transfers, overland transport, and its utilisation at an industrial facility

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16 January 202616 January 2026

Developing CO₂-Based PLGA for high performance packaging

Avantium has developed an alternative PLGA polymer synthesis technique with reactive solvents that facilitate removal of water and in this way reduce the hydrolysis back reaction that limits the molecular weight

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Amcor collaborates with industry leaders for Danish food packaging recycling project

Besides Amcor, the project will involve major food manufacturers and waste management specialists

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CO₂-Derived Plastics Advance Toward Automotive Commercialization

A recent report from Japanese news publication, Nikkei, highlights growing momentum in the commercialization of CO₂-derived plastics for automotive applications, including components evaluated by Volkswagen

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Rheinmetall cooperates with German technology champions to build production facilities for CO2-neutral synthetic fuel for military use

In the future, Rheinmetall intends to enable armed forces to produce their own fuel locally and independently of global fossil fuel supply chains

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Innovative Start-Ups Honored at the ISC3 Innovation Challenge 2025 – Power2Polymers from Germany wins top prize

After a close jury decision, Power2Polymers from Germany secured the ISC3 Innovation Challenge Award 2025, endowed with €15,000, for more sustainable and high-performance polymer products for specialty applications, enabling product carbon footprint reduction by 40%

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15 January 20269 January 2026

Henkel Joins GIC to Drive Chemical Value Chain Transformation

New partnership connects chemical producers with downstream leader to deliver circular, low-emission solutions

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14 January 20268 January 2026

ELV trilogue leads to selective circular economy

Exclusion of post-industrial recyclates undermines functioning technical plastics cycles and ignores supply gap

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Toxin-to-treasure: Chonnam National University scientists use engineered enzyme to turn formaldehyde pollutant into high-value chemical

The study demonstrates engineered aldolase-catalyzed regioselective conversion of formaldehyde into L-glyceraldehyde

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Overshoot: Returning to 1.5°C Requires Net-negative Emissions Targets 

For frontrunners such as the European Union (EU), this will require reframing “net-zero” as a transitional stage towards net-negative GHG emissions, and developing policy instruments that are able to deliver this

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13 January 202612 January 2026

Driving Sustainable Transformation Through Data: How Digital Twins and Data Spaces Reshape the Process Industry

Interview with Rosario Othen & Florian Pohlmeyer, RWTH Aachen University (ITA)

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PerPlacsBio Launched: Biodegradable Plastics Transform Agriculture and Forestry

University of Münster, Rottenburg University of Applied Forest Sciences and the nova-Institute launch PerPlacsBio project – Exploring bio-based and biodegradable plastics for agriculture and forestry

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£6.23 Million in Funding for Celtic Renewables from Scottish Government

Celtic Renewables will put the funding towards the planning and construction of a new £120 million industrial-scale biorefinery at Grangemouth

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12 January 202612 January 2026

Monthly News from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), December 2025

December Highlights: RCI is New Member of the Critical Chemicals Alliance, OK renewable Label, Upcoming Exciting Projects, New Partner Molecule Group (US), Upcoming 10th ECP

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LOOM Carbon and RTI International announce strategic collaboration to transform global textile waste 

Partnership to scale breakthrough process converting unrecycled textiles into various sustainable materials at RTI’s Pilot Xcelerator facility

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Mycelium-Based Biomaterials

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) have emerged as a novel and disruptive class of biomaterials and mycelium transforms low-value organic byproducts into biodegradable, structurally robust materials with foam-like properties

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Circulose and Birla Cellulose Announce Partnership Agreement to Advance Circular Textiles

Circulose will supply pulp made with 100% recycled textile waste to Birla Cellulose, and Birla will produce viscose staple fiber made with CIRCULOSE® pulp

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9 January 20266 January 2026

SKZ launches new research project “CloseT” for sustainable recycling of used textiles

Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research IFAM they will develop an innovative process for recycling mixed waste textile fibers

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8 January 202627 December 2025

Innovation center for textile circular economy inaugurated

DICE is to become the leading national and international innovation and demonstration center for research and development of environmentally friendly processes for the production of chemical pulp

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Solinatra and Paques Biomaterials partner to advance biopolymer compounding for sustainable Single-Use Plastic applications

Under the agreement, Paques Biomaterials will supply PHBV biopolymers for use in Solinatra’s material portfolio, following a phased joint development programme from lab validation through industrial pilots

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Breakthrough in bio-composite recycling: from post-consumer waste into lactic acid – at scale

The closed-loop pilot from TripleW and Sulapac also shows that the transition from single-use to reusable cups can be achieved in a circular manner without relying on fossil-based plastics

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7 January 202627 December 2025

Borealis Partners with BlueAlp to Advance Chemical Recycling

Borealis today announced a strategic partnership with BlueAlp, a leading chemical recycling technology company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands

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‘Game changer’ in lithium extraction: Researchers develop novel electrochemical reactor

This breakthrough holds significant potential for renewable energy storage and electric vehicles

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Leading fashion brands step up to unlock the next chapter of Circulose

Several leading fashion brands are now partnering with Circulose to part from a proven, scalable solution for replacing virgin cellulose fibers such as viscose and lyocell

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6 January 202627 December 2025

Moving towards a more circular automotive sector with agreement on end-of-life vehicles*

With this Regulation, a proportionate set of criteria are defined to determine whether a used vehicle should be considered as an end-of-life vehicle and is therefore covered by the requirements of the new Regulation

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An interview with Takashi Matsumoto, Business Director AGC Vinythai. “The bioeconomy can have a real impact on how we make and consume products in Asia”

With a total potential of nearly 80 million tons agricultural feedstock per year, the bioeconomy presents a real opportunity for Thailand

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Celanese Achieves ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification for POM ECO-C Grades, Expanding Circular Economy Leadership

This certification is the result of Celanese’s major investment in Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology at its Clear Lake, Texas facility - one of the world’s largest active CCU plants

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5 January 202619 December 2025

Unless we rapidly ramp up CO₂ removal, climate neutrality by 2045 will be scarcely achievable

To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, current global levels of CO₂ removal must be at least doubled by 2050

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Turning diaper waste into new value: BASF, Essity and TU Wien pioneer circular solutions

The groundbreaking gasification pilot project proves that used diapers and other absorbent hygiene products can be transformed into valuable raw materials for new chemical products – no complex pre-treatment required

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Melt&Marble Secures €7M to Scale Designer Fats in Beauty and Food 

The new funding will take Melt&Marble from demo to market-ready, with its first ingredients set for commercial launch in personal care applications in 2026

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19 December 202517 December 2025

A new approach to carbon capture could slash costs

Chemical engineers have found a simple way to make capturing carbon emissions from industrial plants more energy-efficient

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Global hydrogen market: Uniper and thyssenkrupp Uhde sign framework agreement on the use of ammonia cracking technology

Uniper and thyssenkrupp Uhde have signed a framework agreement that lays the foundation for the construction of commercial ammonia cracking plants

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18 December 202517 December 2025

From Waste to Value: Borealis Helps Spark EU-Funded Project ELECTRO to Transform Hard-to-Recycle Plastics into Valuable Resources

Borealis is a proud partner of Project ELECTRO, a cutting-edge EU-funded initiative driving Europe toward a climate-neutral, circular plastics system

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€170.7 million for new bio-based innovations

The 2026 work programme introduces 13 topics ranging from industrial flagship biorefineries to research actions that strengthen feedstock diversification, circular design, biotech scale-up and market uptake

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Andreas Künkel Receives The Meyer-Galow Award For Business Chemistry 2025

Biodegradable polymers play a crucial role in the production of sustainable products and thus in a functioning circular economy

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Futerro officially submits permit applications for its future biorefinery in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine

With this submission, Futerro initiates the necessary administrative process for the establishment of its integrated biorefinery, the first of its kind in Europe

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17 December 202515 December 2025

Understanding the Trade Impacts of Sustainability Certification: Insights from the STAR4BBS White Paper

The White Paper is based on a systematic review of 563 publications, of which 21 quantitative studies met the criteria for detailed assessment

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Michelin, IFPEN, and Axens Announce Successful Progress in BioButterfly™ R&D Project: the most mature technology to produce biobased butadiene from bioethanol

Michelin, IFPEN, and Axens are pleased to announce significant advancements in the BioButterfly™ project, supported by ADEME, Région Nouvelle Aquitaine and Bordeaux Metropole, which aims to produce bio-based butadiene from bioethanol

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China’s chemical giants invest in biomanufacturing

China’s bioeconomy moves from startup to scaleup

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SK Chemicals achieves Korea’s first vertical integration in recycling through in-house feedstock sourcing 

The Feedstock Innovation Center (FIC) will process waste plastics into feedstock

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Hemp-based Leather Alternative Featured in Leica’s latest Watch Strap

LOVR comes from European hemp residues combined with plant-based additives

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16 December 202515 December 2025

Artificial Intelligence Reshaping Recycling

AI has already become a core enabler in industrial recycling

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Arena Launches the First Swimwear Collection with Bio-based and Renewable LYCRA® Ecomade Fibre

A dive into innovation, performance, and sustainability with the Vitalife collection

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15 December 202510 December 2025

Commission presents new Bioeconomy Strategy to drive green growth, competitiveness and resilience across Europe

The EU will move forward towards a more circular and decarbonised economy and can decrease dependence on fossil imports

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An interview with Nicolò Giacomuzzi-Moore, Executive Director at CBE JU. “We have no time to waste if we want to maintain the leadership in the circular bioeconomy”

The new Bioeconomy strategy comes in a new context, in which the bioeconomy is at the heart of EU policies for green growth and European competitiveness

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12 December 202511 December 2025

CO2-based Fuels and Chemicals Conference 2026: Preliminary Program Now Available

Leading global event on Carbon Capture and Utilisation to discuss green hydrogen strategies, cost-competitive e-fuels, CO₂-to-polymers and materials in Cologne and online on 28–29 April 2026

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Nobel Prize for MOFs: Nanostructures enable large-scale extraction of carbon dioxide from the air

Thanks to their structure, MOFs are ideally suited to extract gases such as CO₂ or water vapor in confined spaces, or to catalyze chemical reactions

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SOLRESS Drives Safe and Sustainable Bio-Based Solvents from Second-Generation resources

These bio-based solvents will be tested in sectors such as paints and coatings, cosmetics and industrial material processing

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A new certificate for the renewable carbon economy: ‘OK renewable’ from TÜV AUSTRIA

This unique new label shows for the first time the share of fossil carbon in manufacturing and/or in products that has been replaced by biomass, CO₂ and recycling, and expresses it as a single, easy-to-understand product property