NatureWorks, BioAmber form biopolymers venture
Bioplastics major NatureWorks and next-generation chemicals company BioAmber have teamed up to form AmberWorks, a joint venture to bring new performance bio-based polymer compositions to market.
The joint venture builds on the natural synergy that exists between NatureWorks and BioAmber, the companies said.
Beyond its Ingeo PLA technology platform, NatureWorks brings to the joint venture a global commercial presence, established customer relationships, developed applications across a breadth of industries and its experience in commercializing new-to-the-world polymers, the company said.
BioAmber owns PLA/PBS compounding intellectual property and applies biotechnology and chemical processing to produce renewable chemicals.
These renewable chemicals deliver high-performance, low-carbon-footprint building blocks that are cost competitive with their petrochemical equivalents, the companies said.
The joint venture seeks to develop a new family of bio-based compounded polymer solutions, it said.
With the formation of the joint venture, NatureWorks says it plans to commercialize a new family of compounded Ingeo resin grades, and is immediately offering samples of developmental grades aimed at thermoforming and injection-molding processes.
This new family of developmental Ingeo compounded resins is designed for food service ware applications, expanding the Ingeo property range in terms of flexibility, toughness, heat resistance, and drop-in processability on existing manufacturing equipment, the company said.
Based on market interest, further formulated solutions optimized for different applications beyond food service will be assessed over the coming 12 to 24 months.
Compounded PLA/PBS resin grades, developed and manufactured by AmberWorks, will be marketed exclusively through the NatureWorks global commercial organization as new and distinct solutions within the company’s Ingeo portfolio of products, the venture said.
“The new product range being developed by the joint venture enables NatureWorks to broaden its existing product portfolio, allowing for bio-based product solutions in applications that were previously difficult to address,” said Marc Verbruggen, CEO of NatureWorks.
“The properties of PLA and PBS are complementary and making Ingeo compounds using both materials will result in a broad and attractive property profile for a number of different applications,” Verbruggen added.
“The AmberWorks JV builds on BioAmber’s core business: the production of cost competitive, renewable chemicals that include succinic acid and 1,4-butanediol,” said Jean-Francois Huc, CEO of BioAmber.
“Our novel PBS compounding technology has enabled us to forward integrate into polymers and our partnership with NatureWorks, the global market leader in biopolymers, will strengthen and accelerate market access for our growing portfolio of renewable solutions,” he added.
Comments