19 April 202314 April 2023 Linde and Heidelberg Materials Announce Large-Scale Carbon Capture Project Both partners will be supplemented by funding of around €15 million from the Decarbonisation of Industry funding programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
A biohybrid system to extract 20 times more bioplastic from CO2 developed by KAIST researchers The scientists produced bioplastics from CO2 by developing a hybrid system that interlinked the electrochemical CO2 conversion and microbial bio conversion methods together
18 April 202318 April 2023 Solvay collaborates with Ginkgo Bioworks The partnership will strengthen Solvay's position in biotechnology and complements the company’s activities in different key areas
Solvay announces strategic collaboration with Ginkgo Bioworks and expands its R&I footprint in the United States The investment will accelerate the development of new sustainable biopolymers, strengthening Solvay’s position in biotechnology in this important growth platform
17 April 202313 April 2023 The rise of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) as a renewable carbon feedstock – More than 1.3 million tonnes capacity for CO₂-based products already exist and are expected to at least quadruple by 2030 New report on the use of CO₂ for chemicals, advanced fuels, polymers, proteins and minerals by nova-Institute – A deep and comprehensive insight into the evolving technologies, trends and the dynamically growing market of CO2 transformation and utilisation
4 April 202330 March 2023 BOLD biomanufacturing and biotech goals in the USA New goals will be grouped into four themes where biotechnology can play a critical role in reducing GHG emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere
30 March 202327 March 2023 Avantium and Kvadrat sign offtake agreement for the development of PEF for interior textiles The offtake agreement gives Kvadrat the advantage of being first mover in creating PEF-based textiles for both commercial and residential interiors
29 March 20235 May 2023 Webinar Series Green Renewable Solutions 2023 Hosted by Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands and nova-Institute, Germany
27 March 202324 March 2023 Value from waste(water) CO₂ – Invitation to the First Stakeholder Workshop on LCA and S-LCA of the WaterProof Project Free online webinar – 30 March 14:00-17:00h CET
Green hydrogen: How photoelectrochemical water splitting may become competitive The energy payback time of photoelectrochemical "green" hydrogen production can be reduced dramatically, the study shows
23 March 202320 March 2023 OQ Chemicals Launches World’s First Bio-Based ISCC PLUS Certified Isononanoic Acid Isononanoic acid is widely used in the production of various industrial and consumer goods, such as energy-efficient lubricants, plasticizers, and surfactants
16 March 202316 March 2023 From Emission-made Shoes to Jet Fuels – Smart Innovations Make CO₂ the Feedstock of the Future The Conference on CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals announces six nominees for the innovation award “Best CO₂ Utilisation 2023”
Circa enables sustainable textile recycling with Textile Change With Cyrene™, Textile Change is expecting to achieve a safe, low carbon, less energy intense process, while ensuring a high yield that will address increasing market demand for recycled textiles
Green gold: Torrefied biomass to replace coal and oil In February, the Estonian-based startup New Standard Oil successfully commissioned their first industrial-scale prototype for drying and torrefaction of biogenic feedstock operating with superheated steam at atmospheric pressure
15 March 202310 March 2023 Huntsman’s European Polyurethanes Plants Achieve Mass Balance Certification Rotterdam and Wilton facilities confirmed as operating to ISCC PLUS standard
BluCon Biotech welcomes strategic investment by major chemical group LG Chem LG Chem, a leading chemical company, have entered into an investment agreement
14 March 202314 March 2023 ViridiCO2™ Secures £3m in Seed Funding to make Chemical Products from CO2 A spin-out from the University of Southampton's radical technology converts waste carbon dioxide into surfactants, plastics/polymer feedstocks and small molecules
13 March 202322 March 2023 Challenge to lead the carbon-neutral race via efficient biofuel production The conventional biofuel production process involves the use of highly toxic solvents, which are mainly derived from petroleum causing environmental and economic concerns
9 March 20236 March 2023 Hydrogen: The path towards decarbonisation The full energy transition to hydrogen will be an important pillar for facing the power of decarbonising all areas of the economy so that the roadmap for hydrogen is established
8 March 20236 March 2023 Vanillin from Kraft Lignin A green method for obtaining vanillin from technical lignin produced from pulp
1 March 202324 February 2023 Avantium and Origin Materials to accelerate the mass production of FDCA and PEF for advanced chemicals and plastics Strategic partnership will produce FDCA from Origin’s carbon-negative platform for producing chemical intermediates from sustainable wood residues and Avantium’s YXY® Technology
27 February 202322 February 2023 International project AgriLoop is launched to accelerate the future of circular agriculture by converting residues into high-value, eco-friendly products The new collaboration will find new uses for agri-food residues: currently an underexploited resource for both the European Union and China, accounting for around 50% of harvested crops
24 February 202323 February 2023 Deep insights into bio- and CO₂-based solutions for polymers nova Session “Bio- and CO₂-based Polymers: Production, Trends 2022-2027 and the latest Policy Developments” - Workshop with nova experts from technology and markets, sustainability and policy
INEOS Secures €3.5 billion financing for project one – The greenest cracker in Europe The plant is designed to use low carbon hydrogen. As soon as enough becomes available, the cracker will have a zero carbon footprint
Solvay launches ISCC PLUS certified mass balance hydroquinone and hydroquinone monomethylether Products are designed to meet demand for enhanced sustainability, more renewable feedstocks and reduced carbon footprint for the polymer, coating, adhesive, pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets
20 February 202315 February 2023 Zeon Corporation invests in U.S. Startup Visolis to accelerate development of their biomanufacturing process for sustainable chemicals Visolis is developing a biomanufacturing platform combining artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and traditional chemical catalysis to efficiently produce a portfolio of carbon negative chemicals
16 February 202314 February 2023 Cellulose Fibres Conference on 8-9 March 2023 in Cologne and online Session on Sustainability and Environmental Impacts - Sustainability and Concern for Environmental Impact are Driving Developments in the Textile Industry
UPM Biochemicals and HAERTOL Chemie GmbH announce strategic partnership to develop new sustainable coolants World's first biorefinery in Leuna to develop biochemicals of the next generation from forest biomass
15 February 202314 February 2023 The Future Sustainable Chemical and Materials Industry will be Based Entirely on Recycling, Biomass and CO₂ From 23 to 25 May 2023, the brightest stars of renewable materials will meet in Siegburg/Cologne (Germany). More than 500 participants are expected to attend the "Renewable Materials Conference 2023" (www.renewable-materials.eu) – the meeting point for global leaders in industry, science, and politics
14 February 202313 February 2023 Upcycled plastic membrane helps clean up waste Plant-derived biosolvents enable the sustainable conversion of plastic waste into valuable membrane materials
10 February 20238 February 2023 Flue2Chem: Putting carbon waste to work for net zero Industry giants in the UK are joining forces in the first-ever cross-sector collaboration aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Flue2Chem project aims to convert industrial waste gases into chemicals that can be used to manufacture superior and more sustainable consumer products
8 February 20236 February 2023 Want a stronger biodegradable plastic? Add a ‘pinch’ of cream of tartar Several researchers from KRICT and KTH wanted to see if “seasoning” a biodegradable bioplastic like PBS with fruit-derived tartaric acid or citric acid could improve the plastic’s mechanical properties
7 February 20236 February 2023 Only three weeks left – submit your Innovative Product now: The Innovation Award “Renewable Material of the Year 2023 For the third time, a comprehensive award will be presented for the best renewable materials – which can be produced either from biomass, directly via CO₂ utilisation, or recycling
3 February 20237 February 2023 Taking Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) and Power-to-X to the next level – Final Program of the “Conference on CO₂-based Fuels and Chemicals 2023” Leading international experts meet at one of the world’s key events on Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) and Power-to-X from 19-20 April 2023 in Cologne, Germany, and online
1 February 20234 October 2024 Monthly news from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), January 2023 Lets take a look at what happened in January 2023 at RCI
Avantium and Henkel sign offtake agreement on FDCA for adhesives to be used in electronics applications Henkel has tested and positively evaluated the feasibility of FDCA for the use of polyurethane adhesives and is making an important contribution to climate protection by embracing innovative solutions that facilitate recycling and enable CO2 savings across the value chain
31 January 202327 January 2023 PlasCO2 project: Greenhouse gas transformed into a raw material Evonik has launched the PlasCO2 project together with three partners. The aim is to use carbon dioxide (CO2) as a raw material in the production of C4 chemicals
30 January 202327 January 2023 Project Air to receive EUR 97 million under agreement with Innovation Fund The European Union is supporting carbon-neutrality for the European chemicals industry
Tying Onto CO₂ Utilization Through a partnership with a South Dakota ethanol plant, Carbon Sink plans to utilize CO2 for the production of green methanol to power a shipping industry behemoth
27 January 202324 January 2023 Henkel signs agreement with Shell on renewable-based ingredients for Persil®, Purex® and all® brands Shell to replace approximately 200,000 tonnes of fossil feedstocks with renewable feedstocks for cleaning ingredients used in Henkel’s largest laundry brands in North America. A third-party certified mass balance approach will be used
20 January 202318 January 2023 A big step toward ‘green’ ammonia and a ‘greener’ fertilizer Industrial production of ammonia, primarily for synthetic fertilizer — the fuel for last century’s Green Revolution — is one of the world’s largest chemical markets, but also one of the most energy intensive
13 January 202317 December 2024 The Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) receives support ECP is one of the newest partner of the RCI
LANXESS and TotalEnergies to cooperate on sustainable styrene Biocircular styrene based on tall oil. Target 2050: Fully climate-neutral raw materials
9 January 202329 December 2022 Plasma technology makes recycling of CO₂ local and 100% circular The BluePlasma consortium receives approval from VLAIO to set up an R&D pilot project
6 January 20239 March 2023 Building CO2-neutral, defossilised supply chains for chemicals Scientists from the Institute of Biotechnology of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and from the Roche Group propose how to reduce the environmental footprint of the pharma industry
5 January 20232 January 2023 The chemical industry can wean itself off fossil raw materials. Here’s how The substitution of fossil raw materials with renewable biomass-based ones or with recycled materials such as plastics waste, is a viable and attractive method to reduce most emissions from fossil-embedded carbon
4 January 202327 December 2022 Tuning chitosan’s chemical structure for enhanced biological functions In vivo production of chitosan polymers with fully defined structures in a cell factory has been recently highlighted as a ‘gamechanger’ for emerging biomaterials
16 December 202213 December 2022 Solugen raises over $200 million Series D to reimagine the chemistry of everyday life Chemicals are the building blocks of American industry
14 December 20228 December 2022 ‘The right time for chemical recycling is now’ Chemical Recycling Summit
7 December 20222 December 2022 Covestro turns to biotechnology for sustainable plastics Use of microorganisms and enzymes in production