Green tie-ups: Bluepha/TotalEnergies Corbion to advance PLA/PHA solutions in China; UPM Biochemicals/Selenis to develop sustainable PETG

Chinese synthetic biology company Bluepha Co. Ltd and PLA supplier TotalEnergies Corbion have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to accelerate the market adoption of PLA/PHA-based solutions in China. The collaboration aims to bring together the expertise and resources of both companies to further advance the development of high-performance biopolymer solutions, combining Bluepha Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) with Luminy Polylactic Acid (PLA) technology.

BluePHA is the company’s first commercialised biobased and biodegradable polymer. It has been put into commercial-scale production following the inauguration of a new production facility since 2022, BioFAB1, in Yancheng, with the capacity to produce 5,000 tonnes/year of Bluepha PHA resins.

"We are very excited about this collaboration with TotalEnergies Corbion," said Dr. Teng Li, President & Co-founder of Bluepha. He continued: "TotalEnergies Corbion is a trustworthy partner and Bluepha PHA mixed with Luminy PLA would be as a Chinese saying ‘Adding wings to the tiger’. Together, the two companies can give more opportunities to our downstream partners and contribute to a more sustainable future."

"By combining the complementary properties of these materials, we will significantly expand the application possibilities for brand owners seeking fully biobased material solutions," said Thomas Philipon, CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion.

Under the terms of the MOU, Bluepha and TotalEnergies Corbion will jointly promote PLA and PHA market applications in China.

Meanwhile in other news, biochemical firm UPM Biochemicals and Selenis, a subsidiary of the IMG Group that produces speciality polyester resins for a wide range of applications, announced a partnership to produce sustainable polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) resin.

The companies say they will accelerate the introduction of renewable, sustainable forest-sourced materials into plastic applications and reduce fossil resource dependency.

PETG is a highly transparent, FDA approved material used in a large variety of applications including cosmetics and personal care packaging, heat shrink sleeves, and durable goods, such as bulk dispenser.

UPM will supply Selenis with its new sustainable bio mono-ethylene glycol (Bio-MEG), called UPM BioPura, to make partial BioPETG. UPM BioPura is produced from sustainably sourced, certified hardwood obtained from forests in the regions around Leuna in Germany, where the company is building the world’s first industry scale biorefinery converting woody biomass into next generation biochemicals.

The biomass does not compete with food resources and will enable manufacturers a viable option to redefine their net zero targets and significantly reduce their scope 3 emissions by switching effortlessly from fossil-based, to a renewable, drop-in ingredient, says UPM.

Selenis focuses its product innovation on developing products that are fully recyclable in the PET stream and has revolutionary technology that upcycles plastic waste into new polymers, replacing fossil-fuel feedstocks with recycled polyester raw material.

Selenis converters and brand owners can now customise their products to reduce their carbon footprint, by adding bio and recycled content, with no performance trade-offs. Moreover, Selenis is investing in self-generated solar energy which will allow the usage of fully green energy in the manufacturing process of the polymer, further supporting brand owners on their decarbonisation strategies.

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