In an important step toward creating a new natural plastic substitute (PHBV), Paques Biomaterials opened a demonstration factory on the HVC site in Dordrecht (The Netherlands), where they will make the raw material for this plastic replacement from waste streams. The material has the advantages of plastic, but not the disadvantages: it is light and mouldable, can be processed like plastic, and is completely biodegradable, so that no microplastics are left behind in nature.

We congratulate team Nafigate for their incredible work on the natural PHA platform! They are the winners of the “In-Cosmetics Global Green Ingredients Award”.

KANEKA Corporation's biodegradable polymer Green Planet™ will see a substantial increase in production in Japan. The operations will start in January 2024, where the 5,000 tons/year capacity of the existing plant will increase to 15,000 tons/year, making the total production capacity 20,000 tons/year.

PHA producer and GO!PHA member Bluepha’s PHA product line can now be used for all types of food packaging as well as a wide range of disposable cutlery, straws, cups, and other products in all regions in the European Union as per European Regulations.

Tianan’s PHBV polymer has received the "OK Compost Home" certification by TÜV Austria. This approval states that the material can be composted at lower, ambient temperatures. PHBV is made by bacterial fermentation and is 100% biobased and 100% biodegradable. It can also be blended with other biopolymers such as PLA, starch based polymers or synthetic bio based polyesters.

To expand their PHA technology portfolio and create new biodegradable bioplastic products, TerraVerdae Bioworks is set to acquire Canada-based PolyFerm. PolyFerm's unique technology of biobased and biodegradable PHAs will enhance TerraVerdae's ability to produce a wider range of bioplastics applications.

In an interview with the Polymerist, GO!PHA member Bioextrax talked about using biology for making downstream processing of poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) easier. Bioextrax is a Swedish organization using their 100% bio-based and chemical free technology to contribute to a circular economy and a more sustainable society.

China based PHA producer Bluepha and Dutch company Helian Polymers have announced their collaboration to bring a new PHA based building block to the market, targeting various applications as a drop-in replacement for existing petrochemical based plastics. 

PHA producer and GO!PHA member Bluepha successfully set up their first large scale commercial PHA plant. The plant is set for commercial production with an annual PHA capacity of 25,000 tons. PHA has displayed excellent material properties, biodegradability and carbon reduction due to which PHA markets have rapidly grown over the years. Bluepha was appreciated for their achievements in research and development, commercialization efforts, and social responsibility.

Fort Myers Beach, FL (USA) demonstrated leadership to curb plastic pollution in a landmark decision to ban plastic straws in the area, and to allow for marine biodegradable straw alternatives. New marine biodegradable technologies like WinCup’s polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) phade® straw, made with Nodax®-based resins from Danimer Scientific, are now able to be distributed in the community and achieve the city’s goal of protecting the area’s beaches and waterways.

Jeff Anderson, the Co-founder of USA-based biotech company Full Cycle Bioplastics, joined podcast Startups for Good to talk about their passion for tackling the plastic pollution, and how they became a part of the PHA-platform. From writing their thesis on PHA production to transforming organic waste into PHA, Jeff details his journey so far. Listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below.

China’s leading PHA Bioplastic producer, and GO!PHA member Blupha have partnered with Thai Wah, a leading food products public company in Thailand, to advance innovation, research and development in agri-biotech in Asia. With this strategic partnership, both organizations aim to address new challenges from farm to shelf across the areas of biomass, bio-transformation and biolastics. We congratulate them on this new beginning, and look forward to the influential work in years to come.

Alternatives for single-use plastics are being explored globally, and biobased materials have emerged as a promising contender for that. GO!PHA member Shellworks, a UK based biotech start-up, talk about their work, technology and effort in making sustainable products in an article with The Guardian.

They use their own proprietary material made of a PHA blend to make products such as tubes, bottles and compacts for beauty companies. Once these products are finished, they can be composted without any special infrastrucure.

In a step towards supporting and providing resources to innovative businesses, Genecis will receive the multi-million dollar funding from Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen). Genecis will collaborate with organic waste manufacturer StormFisher to put together a plant that will transform organic waste feedstock into PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates) bioplastics. The company’s patented transformation process uses its licensed bacteria converting into PHAs. Since PHAs have a property profile that mimics so many different fossil polymers, they are further used to create commercially used products. Genecis’ technology will provide manufacturers in a variety of industries quality materials for packaging, agricultural plastics, medical plastics, and additive manufacturing filaments.

Biotechnology company Newlight technologies will support multinational sportswear corporation Nike to reduce the latter’s carbon footprint with the use of a carbon-negative biomaterial. This collaboration will explore the use of AirCarbon, Newlight's biomaterial produced by ocean microorganisms which is an energy storage material a.k.a. polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Nike has made a conscious decision of accelerating their efforts to address the challenges of climate change by targeting materials usage, which accounts for majority of Nike's total carbon footprint. Newlight's technology uses ocean microorganisms that eat greenhouse gases and air to make AirCarbon, which is composed of 40 percent oxygen from the air and 60 percent carbon from greenhouse gases.

Danimer Scientific is set to acquire Novomer, Inc., a leading developer of conversion technology. The Novomer technology has a much better understood control of molecular topology than the fermentation process at the moment. Assuming that (in the future) it will be possible to also have the other raw materials on a renewable carbon basis, this should be considered as an excellent strategic move for future positioning in the PHA-platform, both from a polymer structure/properties relationship and from an economic perspective.

The BioSinn Project, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, has found products and applications for which biodegradation at the end-of-life is a real option. The selection criteria were that collecting the products (or their remaining parts), separating them from other organic waste or material recycling is not possible, economically not feasible or does not take place in practice. Project experts from the Nova Institute from Hürth near Cologne together with project partner Institut für Kunststofftechnik at the University of Stuttgart (IKT Stuttgart) and a project advisory board made up of representatives from industry, academia and politics, were able to identify 25 applications on this basis for which biodegradability is actually a sensible end-of-life option.

We are proud to announce that GO!PHA member Refork has been long-listed in the Europas Awards 2021 as one of the hottest sustainability startups in Europe. The Europas is one of the premier tech startup competitions for startup rising stars from across the region. The long-list consists out of the most ambitious and successful startups, with a focus on the late stage seed and Series A startups who will be tomorrows super startups. Vote here now.

Bill Pascrell & Brian Fitzpatrick, United States Representatives of the House, have reintroduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, legislation that will create an allocated tax credit for production of qualifying renewable chemicals from biomass or investment in production facilities. The bill will accelerate commercialization of the renewable chemicals and biobased products and help build a resilient biobased economy. Applicants for the tax credit will be evaluated on job creation, innovation, environmental benefits, commercial viability, and contribution to U.S. energy independence. A great push for the PHA-platform in the US.

In March, the Break Free from Plastic Act of 2021 (BFFPA) was reintroduced to Congress, targeting the chemicals and plastics industries for their role in pollution and landfilling. The bill argues for increasing recycling rates, shifting financial responsibility for recycling and waste management systems to upstream producers, and bans an expanded list of petroleum-based, single-use plastic products. Delaine Mayer, opinion contributor to The Hill, agues that this is a good starting point, but these are linear solutions that still result in wasted resources. Truly circular solutions are needed. Therefore the BFFPA must push for circular economy principles that design out the concepts of waste and pollution entirely and advance regenerative natural systems instead.