Bio-on and Hera create Lux-on the new challenge to produce bioplastic from CO2.
10 Dicembre 2018 - 7:59AM
Bio-on and Hera create Lux-on the new challenge to produce
bioplastic from CO2.
- Newco Lux-on created by Bio-on, alongside Gruppo Hera, to
develop a revolutionary technology to produce biopolymers from CO2
(carbon dioxide).
- Following 2 years of research by Bio-on scientists working in
Italy and USA, the new technology uses CO2 freely available in the
atmosphere as a carbon source to produce 100% natural and
biodegradable bioplastic.
- CO2 is added to the other “raw materials” already used to make
Bio-on bioplastic: sugar beet and sugar cane molasses, fruit and
potato waste, carbohydrates, glycerol and waste frying oil. Using
CO2 will also help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
- Lux-on's bioplastic production will rely solely on renewable
solar energy and, thanks to a hydrogen energy management system,
will run 24/7.
BOLOGNA, 10 December 2018 –
Bio-on, a leader in the high quality bioplastic
sector, and Gruppo Hera, one of Italy's largest
multi-utility providers, have reached an agreement to take 90% and
10% shares respectively (with the possibility of Hera increasing
its share to 49.9%) in LUX-ON, the new company founded by
Bio-on aiming to revolutionise the production of PHAs biopolymers
using CO2 captured from the atmosphere and producing
energy without using fossil fuels. The new technology
developed by Bio-on envisages using carbon dioxide as
a zero cost “raw material”, in addition
to those already used to produce Bio-on bioplastic: sugar beet and
sugar cane molasses, fruit and potato waste, carbohydrates,
glycerol and waste frying oil. Using CO2 will also
help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere.
The laboratories and first plant of the
new Lux-on project will be built by the end of 2019 close
to the Bio-on Plants industrial facility at Castel San Pietro Terme
(Bologna). It will be designed entirely by Bio-on
technicians in collaboration with Hera, with carbon
capture plants and a production facility using renewable solar
energy. The development of the technology will be aided by the fact
that many of the principles and equipment used in the standard
technology can also be used in Lux-on's new production systems.
This is why the development and pre-industrial phase will be much
faster than usual. The plant will occupy an area of 1,500 m2, 600
m2 of which is covered, and will have a flexible production
capacity that is rapidly expandable.
The electric energy used in Lux-on's innovative
production process will be produced by photovoltaic systems which,
aside from directly powering production, will also provide storable
energy for nocturnal power (24/7 production). For energy storage,
partnerships will be entered into with international experts in
hydrogen (H) technology. Hydrogen, a non-polluting gas, will be
produced from solar energy, stored and then converted to electric
energy to power the plant when the solar panels are not running,
i.e. at night or when light levels are poor.
“We are extremely pleased to work with HERA,”
explains Bio-on S.p.A. Chairman and CEO
Marco Astorri. “The great technological innovation
used at Lux-on enables us to increase the industrial sustainability
of a new production concept. We are particularly proud to realise
humanity's dream to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and produce
innovative materials like our PHAs biopolymer. We are ready to face
this new challenge, which will further extend our client base in
the coming years, consolidating Italy's global leadership in high
quality biopolymer production.”
Following a year of major agreements,
fast-growing company Bio-on, is set to begin 2019 with new
strategic projects, including its collaboration with
Hera.
The agreement also envisages a second
development line aimed at identifying sustainable by-products for
biopolymer production. Renamed PHA-CEL by Hera, this consists in
transforming cutting and pruning cellulose into simple sugars that
can then be used in fermentation following an enzymatic treatment.
This process is made possible by the treatment technology,
developed by Gruppo Hera, which is also assessing how to apply it
to biogas and biomethane production from cuttings and prunings.
All the PHAs
(polyhydroxyalkanoates) developed by
Bio-on are made from renewable plant sources with
no competition with food supply chains, and from CO2 in the coming
years. They can replace a number of conventional polymers currently
made with petrochemical processes using hydrocarbons; they
guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties as conventional
plastics with the advantage of being completely eco-sustainable and
100% naturally biodegradable.
The agreement between the two companies has come
out of a highly dynamic territory that represents the technological
cutting edge in Italy to be exported around the world.
“For Gruppo Hera, which uses innovation and
sustainability as the foundations of its multi-utility business,”
explained Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Executive
President of Gruppo Hera, “taking a share in the
new company founded by Bio-on is the representation of a natural
coming together of intentions and an alliance that we believe can
be developed successfully beyond our territory and across various
sectors. With the breadth and quality of our services, this
agreement will give further, fundamental green credentials to a
project like Lux-on, which aims to change the bioplastics world,
not to mention the joint commitment to transform cuttings and
prunings. Considering that Hera collects 200 thousand tons of
cuttings and prunings every year, which can be transformed into
bioplastic using our technology, this sector has huge growth
potential.”
Further technical information is
available in a video at: www.lux-on.com
HERA GROUP
It is one of Italy's largest multi-utility
providers working in Environment (waste collection and treatment),
Energy (electricity and gas distribution and sale) and Water
(waterworks, sewers and purification). The Group employs over 9,000
people and works every day to meet the many and varied needs of
over 4.4 million citizens. It serves over 350 local municipalities
mainly in the Emilia Romagna, Marche, Tuscany, Abruzzo, Veneto and
Friuli Venezia Giulia regions.
www.gruppohera.it
For further information: Gruppo
Hera, Cecilia Bondioli - Head of Media and Publishing
Relations
Tel: 051.287595 - 320.4790622
cecilia.bondioli@gruppohera.it - ufficiostampa@gruppohera.it
Bio-on
Bio-on S.p.A., an Italian Intellectual Property
Company (IPC), operates in the bioplastic sector conducting applied
research and development of modern bio-fermentation technologies in
the field of eco-sustainable and completely naturally biodegradable
materials. In particular, Bio-on develops industrial applications
through the creation of product characterisations, components and
plastic items. Since February 2015, Bio-on S.p.A. has also been
operating in the development of natural and sustainable chemicals
for the future. Bio-on has developed an exclusive process for the
production of a family of polymers called PHAs
(polyhydroxyalkanoates) from agricultural waste (including molasses
and sugar cane and sugar beet syrups). The bioplastic produced in
this way is able to replace the main families of conventional
plastics in terms of performance, thermo-mechanical properties and
versatility. Bio-on PHAs is a bioplastic that can be classified as
100% natural and completely biodegradable: this has been certified
by Vincotte and by USDA (United States Department of Agriculture).
The Issuer's strategy envisages the marketing of licenses for PHAs
production and related ancillary services, the development of
R&D (also through new collaborations with universities,
research centres and industrial partners), as well as the
realisation of industrial plants designed by Bio-on.
www.bio-on.it
Bio-on press information –
Simona Vecchies +393351245190 – press@bio-on.it – Twitter
@BioOnBioplastic
- BIO-ON_LUX-ON_PressRelease_E