Daily News

Biotechnology company Circa Group has announced it is leading the consortium for new EU project ReSolute – a flagship Horizon 2020 project set to develop the first commercial plant to produce Cyrene a new, sustainably-sourced, safer alternative to traditional, fossil-based solvents.

Stora Enso and Sulapac are launching a renewable and biodegradable straw to combat the global problem of plastic waste. The straw has strong usability and works just like a traditional straw. The new straws are available to brands and consumers looking for more eco-friendly solutions.

Ford Motor Company and McDonald’s USA will soon be giving vehicles a caffeine boost by using part of a familiar staple in the morning routine, coffee beans, in vehicle parts such as headlamp housing.

Stora Enso is investing EUR 9 million to build a pilot facility for enabling the production of bio-based plastics to serve as a barrier layer in transparent packaging. The pilot plant will convert plant-based sugars into the renewable building block required to make PEF, a bio-based plastic, mainly targeting the food and beverage industry. The pilot plant will be located at Stora Enso's Langerbrugge Mill in Belgium.

Stora Enso, along with other members of CEPI, the European association representing the forest fiber and paper industry, are joining forces with companies across the value chain to drive the recycling of fiber-based packaging and collaboration in circular design and materials to enable positive change in circular economy.

A Dutch consortium led by Vertoro has been granted €1.2 million to investigate the potential of crude lignin oil as a platform for sustainable chemicals and materials. Biorizon co-initiator VITO is one of the consortium partners.

Tetra Pak, together with its supplier Braskem, has become the first company in the food and beverage industry to responsibly source plant-based polymers using the Bonsucro standards for sustainable sugar cane.

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, based in California, USA, has awarded the Material Health Certificate GOLD level certification to Licocare RBW 102 Vita, Licocare RBW 106 Vita and Licocare RBW 300 Vita, bio-based lubricating and dispersing aids developed and produced by Clariant - a further confirmation of their excellent environmental profile and contribution to a circular economy for plastics.

Moving ahead with its strategy to advance the use of PEF in high-value applications, Avantium Renewable Polymers has announced plans to open an Avantium branch office in Japan.

Global specialty plastics provider Eastman and NB Coatings, a leader in paint on plastics for both domestic and transplant original equipment manufacturers, have developed a new solution for interior Class A painted surfaces with Trēva™ engineering bioplastic.

PolyOne has announced the launch of reSound™ OM thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), the latest addition to its sustainable solutions portfolio. These new formulations utilize between 40 and 50 percent bio-renewable content derived from sugarcane and offer hardness levels and performance comparable to standard TPEs.

Avantium has joined the Paper Bottle Project - an innovation community bringing together some of the world's leading players in materials, design and technology on the development of a sustainable paper bottle.