The Biggest Bio-Textile Investments Of 2022 (So Far)
The last ten months has seen bio-based fashion startups sustain its investment bonanza of 2021, when three of the top four biomaterial funding runs went to vegan textile producers.
Insect-killing fungi can wean agriculture off fossil synthetics
An estimated 20 – 40 percent of crop yield are lost to pests each year. Although synthetic insect-killing formulas have been the go-to solution since the 1960s, their dangers for…
5 Minutes With… Gediminas Mikutis, CTO of Haelixa
Haelixa is a multi-award winning traceability company founded in 2016 by Michela Puddu and Gediminas Mikutis. The pair worked during their PhD at ETH Zurich on the development of DNA…
Biden’s $2 Billion Bioeconomy Plan Puts Biomanufacturing At Heart Of Federal Policy
On September 12, Joe Biden signed an executive order to inject $2 billion into the US bioeconomy. The National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative bids to bolster US capacity in high-value…
ChainCraft raises €11M to produce biochemicals from organic waste
Amsterdam-based ChainCraft, announced that it has raised €11M in a fresh round of funding. The company develops and scales proprietary fermentation processes to produce biochemicals from organic waste, using an…
Research team develops wind turbine resin that can be recycled into valuable products
The blades of a wind turbine are typically designed to be replaced about every 20 years. As wind energy becomes increasingly popular, experts estimate that by 2050 more than two…
OGVG working with Highline Mushrooms to manage food waste
The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) has announced it is working on a strategic alliance with Highline Mushrooms that will help the mushroom growers to obtain raw materials comparable to…
Can bio-based agtech feed the world? These microbial start-ups say yes
Achieving sustainable food production for a growing world population will be one of the greatest challenges of the coming century. A fundamental part of this will be reducing our dependence…
Recycling startups tackle cotton’s environmental toll
Cotton is one of the world’s most popular and oldest biomaterials, accounting for around a quarter of all textile production. Yet its future as a cheap clothing staple is now…
The chitosan packaging industry is only just beginning
In 1823, a scientist named Antoine Odier created a hornlike material after treating a beetle with potassium hydroxide. This was one of the earliest discoveries of chitin, a polysaacharide found…
Natural Capital Banks and why the bioeconomy needs them
Historians looking back on the first half of 2022 will likely zero in on two themes: the scramble among central banks to stem inflation and the record-shattering heatwaves that pulsed…
The strongest biomaterials in the world
Limpets have 1, 920 teeth on their radula, the tongue-like appendage they use to scrape food off rocky surfaces. These teeth are made from common organic materials - chitin and…