News Bioeconomy
Kemira and IFF strategically partner to commercialize renewable materials

Kemira and IFF are taking the next step towards the commercialization of the Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial (DEB) platform, a biotechnology process that reportedly enables production of new renewable polymers with enzymatic polymerization. These renewable materials will become available at entry level industrial scale to drive market development and to provide supply to first-mover customers across markets.

Kemira shared in a press statement that the new production facility will be integrated into an existing biorefinery in Finland, and it will be operated by Finnamyl Oy / Chemigate (a member of the Berner Group) through a contract manufacturing arrangement. The manufacturing facility will be operational in late 2024.

IFF and Kemira have been collaborating in an exclusive partnership to bring new, renewable products into Kemira’s strategic markets for pulp, paper and packaging as well as industrial and municipal water treatment. Kemira has been advancing application development programs with lead customers to confirm demand for this innovation, with a particular focus on strength, dewatering and barrier applications for the packaging industry.

“This is a major step in our growth strategy implementation and our journey to build the leading renewable materials portfolio for our customers. This innovative biotechnology platform enables production of renewable polymers which combine high performance with significant improvements in sustainability profile, including end-of-life properties such as recyclability and biodegradability. We are very excited to scale-up new alternatives to the fossil-based products, without compromising performance and competitiveness,” says Sampo Lahtinen, senior vice-president of Growth Accelerator, Kemira.

“In today’s world, innovation must go hand-in-hand with sustainability. It is a topic of conversation at nearly every customer meeting we have,” says Christian Lenges, IFF venture director. “For years, ‘green’ products were deemed inferior in performance and affordability to fossil-based alternatives. We are very proud that by using our unmatched strengths in bioscience we have been able to develop the DEB technology platform and can provide first commercial scale increments for our partners and customers”.