As part of their strategic cooperation in providing new renewable alternatives to fossil-based products, Kemira Oyj (Helsinki, Finland) and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF; New York) announced successful completion of a market-entry-scale industrial polymer plant. The unit is capable of producing unique renewable polymers for Kemira’s customers and is based on the patented Designed Enzymatic Biomaterial platform technology (DEB) developed by IFF. The unit is operated by Chemigate, a member of the Berner Group, and is located within Chemigate Ltd’s Finnamyl biorefinery in Kokemäki, Finland.
Kemira and IFF are exploring options to further extend their exclusive partnership. These options include evaluating investments for a manufacturing joint venture focused on commercial scale production based on the DEB™ technology platform. The full-scale unit would be located at the IFF biorefinery site in Kotka, Finland.
“Construction of the market-entry scale production unit is a great collaborative achievement for our team and for our customers. We continue to receive increasing positive feedback from the market supporting the need for this new technology. We are excited to continue creating momentum for use in strategic markets such as paper and board packaging, and water treatment.”, says Sampo Lahtinen, SVP Growth Accelerator, Kemira Oyj.
“IFF and Kemira have been collaborating in an exclusive partnership to bring new, renewable products to market. The successful construction and ongoing commissioning of this market-entry scale facility allows IFF and Kemira to support customers across various markets for first adoptions. Our companies are committed to lead in the material transformation in Europe by providing new competitive alternatives to fossil-based products and by driving the growth of the bioeconomy through breakthrough biotechnology driven innovation”, says Christian Lenges, IFF Venture Director.