SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL
UK oxo-degradables producer buys stake in French firm to develop algae-based bioplastics
Oxo-degradable additive manufacturer Symphony Environmental Technologies (Borehamwood / UK; www.symphonyenvironmental.com) has acquired an 8% stake in Eranova (Le Bourget-du-Lac / France; www.eranovabioplastics.com). The French-registered company that has developed a technology to create compoundable resins when mixed with other polymers and algae-derived starch, and which are compostable and biodegradable.
Symphony’s stake is costing the UK firm EUR 500,122, valuing Eranova at EUR 6.3m. Under the terms of the deal, Symphony can buy a 51% interest in the French company within three years. It will also have a representative on the Eranova board.
The French firm’s technology can also be developed to produce biofuel, biopolymers, proteins for food and animal feed, as well as by-products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Eranova has an application for a patent that has been registered in several territories.
Pre-industrial development is expected to start in the second half of 2018 and will consist of constructing long seawater tanks, where Eranova will optimise cultivation of algae for the production of the starch extract.
In a statement, Symphony said the importance of Eranova’s technology was far-reaching, with the possibility to produce polymers “from natural raw materials without the need to use arable land and fresh-water resources normally used for growing food crops.” Michael Laurier, Symphony's chief executive, said, “We believe that the Eranova technology and our 'd2w' technology will both be valuable parts of a suite of technologies and strategies to be adopted by governments across the world for eliminating the various forms of plastic from the oceans and the open environment.”
Symphony’s stake is costing the UK firm EUR 500,122, valuing Eranova at EUR 6.3m. Under the terms of the deal, Symphony can buy a 51% interest in the French company within three years. It will also have a representative on the Eranova board.
The French firm’s technology can also be developed to produce biofuel, biopolymers, proteins for food and animal feed, as well as by-products for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Eranova has an application for a patent that has been registered in several territories.
Pre-industrial development is expected to start in the second half of 2018 and will consist of constructing long seawater tanks, where Eranova will optimise cultivation of algae for the production of the starch extract.
In a statement, Symphony said the importance of Eranova’s technology was far-reaching, with the possibility to produce polymers “from natural raw materials without the need to use arable land and fresh-water resources normally used for growing food crops.” Michael Laurier, Symphony's chief executive, said, “We believe that the Eranova technology and our 'd2w' technology will both be valuable parts of a suite of technologies and strategies to be adopted by governments across the world for eliminating the various forms of plastic from the oceans and the open environment.”
09.05.2018 Plasteurope.com [239686-0]
Published on 09.05.2018