{"id":68906,"date":"2019-11-26T06:58:03","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T05:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rss.nova-institut.net\/public.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Filbioeconomista.com%2F2019%2F11%2F21%2Fan-exclusive-interview-with-alex-michine-ceo-of-metgen-building-consumer-awareness-is-key-for-the-expansion-of-the-european-bioeconomy%2F"},"modified":"2019-11-24T19:11:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-24T18:11:46","slug":"an-exclusive-interview-with-alex-michine-ceo-of-metgen-building-consumer-awareness-is-key-for-the-expansion-of-the-european-bioeconomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/an-exclusive-interview-with-alex-michine-ceo-of-metgen-building-consumer-awareness-is-key-for-the-expansion-of-the-european-bioeconomy\/","title":{"rendered":"An exclusive interview with Alex Michine, CEO of MetGen. \u201cBuilding consumer awareness is key for the expansion of the European bioeconomy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

MetGen<\/a> is a Finnish company headquartered in Kaarina and founded in 2008 on the core competence of genetic engineering and synthetic biology.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista, the CEO, Alex Michine, talks about the achievements and the next steps of the company and gives us his point of view regarding the bioeconomy in Finland and in the European Union.<\/p>\n

Interview by Mario Bonaccorso<\/em><\/p>\n

MetGen\u00a0claims that \u201ceverything that is made from oil today, can be made of wood tomorrow\u201d. How can this be possible?<\/h3>\n

MetGen\u2019s\u00a0goal is to refine lignin and\u00a0produce \u2018drop-in\u2019 replacements for fossil-based chemicals\u00a0\u2013\u00a0rather\u00a0than produce the same fossil-based chemicals. For example,\u00a0we want to\u00a0replace formaldehyde\u00a0in polyurethane foams with lignin fractions.\u00a0Processing wood fractions\u00a0\u2013\u00a0especially lignin \u2013 is\u00a0similar to prerefining oil. However, MetGen\u00a0can replace complicated operations with simpler, more streamlined processes\u00a0by\u00a0converting\u00a0side streams of lignocellulosic biomass into\u00a0valuable\u00a0renewable chemicals and building\u00a0blocks.\u00a0Our vision is to enable\u00a0various industries to get the most value out of biomass,\u00a0thereby helping\u00a0them\u00a0decarbonise.<\/p>\n

The market of enzymes is dominated by the Danish biotech giant Novozymes. But it is a market which is attracting many chemical companies, such as BASF and Dupont. What is your strategy to grow in this market?<\/h3>\n

No single company\u00a0can\u00a0fully address the\u00a0needs of modern biorefineries and\u00a0we all need to work together to enable\u00a0a variety of\u00a0solutions.\u00a0We are fans of open innovation\u00a0and working together with other companies and Research\u00a0Technology Organisations (RTOs).<\/p>\n

At MetGen, we\u2019re\u00a0focused\u00a0on customising all our enzymatic solutions to our customer process\u00a0and\u00a0providing a cocktail of solutions. Processed biomass is like the soup of the day \u2013 never the same. Different biomass is pre-treated with different methods and it all undergoes different processes, so we know it doesn\u2019t make sense to create an \u2018off-the-shelf\u2019enzymatic solutions.<\/p>\n

How does your two technologies Metnin and Enzine work?<\/h3>\n

ENZINE\u00ae\u00a0is a platform combining protein evolution technology and fermentation,\u00a0which\u00a0significantly reduces the technology development cycle of enzymes focused on biomass.\u00a0It is\u00a0enzyme\u00a0agnostic,\u00a0meaning it can be used to\u00a0create and\u00a0improve any enzyme, therefore allowing for tailored solutions.<\/p>\n

METNIN\u00a0enables products made from lignin to have a reduced carbon footprint. The enzyme technology facilitates lignin valorisation in industrial and commercial applications and\u00a0it is unique due to\u00a0MetGen\u2019s proprietary enzyme strain working in extreme conditions, including high temperature and pH. A versatile technology, it extends lignin\u2019s\u00a0application scope.<\/p>\n

Frost & Sullivan recognized your company with the 2019 European Technology Innovation Award for your two enzyme technologies. What does this award mean for your company and what are your next steps to develop your business?<\/h3>\n

We were delighted that Frost & Sullivan recognised our technologies as best-in-class \u2013 it means our strategy and vision is working\u00a0to enable\u00a0bio-based solutions.\u00a0The award\u00a0also recognised the MetGen team\u2019s hard work, which a huge boost to our team spirit.<\/p>\n

Recognition from such a prestigious organisation naturally helps raise awareness of our\u00a0technologies and\u00a0helps us\u00a0develop a wider customer base. The award also helps build awareness of more sustainable technologies, which will ultimately help\u00a0society reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

MetGen is a Finnish company and Finland is probably one of the best places in Europe for the bioeconomy. How much is important for your business the Finnish political and economic environment?<\/h3>\n

Finland is a great\u00a0place\u00a0to\u00a0set up a start-up, as the country has deep bio-based knowhow,\u00a0especially on\u00a0processing biomass in an environmentally-friendly way. What\u00a0can be improved in Finland \u2013 as well as the rest of the EU \u2013 is\u00a0the availability of financing for pilot and demonstration facilities. Luckily,\u00a0BBI JU,\u00a0the public-private partnership\u00a0between the EU and the Bio-based Industries Consortium\u00a0(BIC),\u00a0is a mechanism\u00a0which provides\u00a0this support. We hope the next Horizon Europe programme will be even bigger,\u00a0as this the only way to accelerate bio-based products\u2019 commercialisation in Europe.<\/p>\n

And what do you think is still needed in Europe to grow the bioeconomy?<\/h3>\n

Building consumer awareness is key\u00a0for the expansion\u00a0of the\u00a0European bioeconomy.\u00a0European society needs\u00a0to\u00a0gain a common\u00a0understanding on the\u00a0importance of bio-based solutions and\u00a0their\u00a0impact\u00a0on sustainability and circularity.<\/p>\n

We do not believe green solutions should cost a premium\u00a0price \u2013 bio-based solutions need\u00a0to be\u00a0widely\u00a0available and competitively-priced. Brand owners should adapt their strategies to boost market pull for renewable chemicals and products. Once this happens, additional investments by private equity and banks could be injected to accelerate bioeconomy adoption.<\/p>\n

In enim justo, rhoncus ut, imperdiet a, venenatis vitae, justo. Nullam dictum felis eu pede mollis pretium. Integer tincidunt. Cras dapibus. Vivamus elementum semper nisi. Aenean vulputate eleifend tellus. Aenean leo ligula, porttitor eu, consequat vitae, eleifend ac, enim. Aliquam lorem ante, dapibus in, viverra quis, feugiat a, tellus. Phasellus viverra nulla ut metus varius laoreet.<\/p>\n

Powered by:
\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MetGen is a Finnish company headquartered in Kaarina and founded in 2008 on the core competence of genetic engineering and synthetic biology. In this exclusive interview with Il Bioeconomista, the CEO, Alex Michine, talks about the achievements and the next steps of the company and gives us his point of view regarding the bioeconomy in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,5840,12529],"supplier":[9996,4464],"class_list":["post-68906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-enzymes","tag-technology","supplier-il-bioeconomista","supplier-metgen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68906"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=68906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}