Green news: Noroo to lead 3-HP bio-project in South Korea; Celanese/Siegwerk to advance bio printing ink solutions

South Korea’s Noroo Holdings has been appointed lead organisation for a government-backed initiative to commercialise 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), a bio-based platform chemical with applications across coatings, cosmetics, and sustainable plastics.

The project is funded by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Its full title: Development of Feedstock Production and Value-Added Product Technologies to Promote the Bio-Based Polymer Market.

3-HP is one of the "Top 12 Future Bio-Based Chemicals" led by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and is a core material capable of being converted into various chemical structures, ranging from cosmetics to coatings and eco-friendly plastics. As an eco-friendly material that can replace existing petroleum-based chemical materials, it is evaluated as one of the key materials in the 'industrial biotech (white biotech) business for the carbon-neutral era.

In this project, Noroo will oversee the entire process from securing raw materials to production, conducting mass-production validation of 3-HP using waste biomass. The key sub-projects include: development of bio-based acrylic acid-based polymer materials, mass-production validation of 3-HP utilising waste biomass, and validation of bio-acrylic acid production based on 3-HP catalytic reactions.

Noroo Paint, the group’s coatings subsidiary, takes responsibility for converting 3-HP into bio-acrylic acid via catalytic transformation and there after substitute petroleum-derived acrylic acid in automotive, industrial, and architectural coatings, a significant step for a company already established in premium paint markets, it adds.

The project brings together a consortium of research institutions and industrial partners. Noroo adds its in-house Bio Fusion Research Institute has spent over a decade developing the microbial and biosynthesis technology underpinning the programme. It has already run a five-tonne production facility, secured EU REACH registration for 3-HP derivatives, and confirmed 99% biodegradation within 28 days.

In other news, US-based materials firm Celanese and Siegwerk, one of the world’s leading providers of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, have announced a collaboration to supply more sustainable solutions in the printing ink value chain through utilising bio-based ethyl acetate manufactured by Celanese.

The ethyl acetate produced by Celanese contains 50% bio-based content, helping to reduce the use of fossil-derived raw materials compared to conventional alternatives. Siegwerk uses the bio-based solvent as a drop-in solution in its existing ink formulations, enabling the production of more sustainable products without compromising performance or requiring changes to established manufacturing processes.

“The partnership with Celanese directly aligns with Siegwerk’s SustainUP program, our global sustainable procurement initiative, which is a key pillar of HorizonNOW 2030 – Siegwerk’s overarching sustainability strategy,” said Cathleen Hansohm, Global Supplier Sustainability Manager. “The use of a 50% bio-content ethyl acetate supports our ambition to expand the use of renewable feedstocks in a responsible and scalable way.”

“Collaboration is key to driving meaningful progress toward sustainability,” said Kevin Norfleet, Senior Director, Sustainability, at Celanese. “By working closely with Siegwerk, Celanese contributes to solutions that reduce the use of fossil resources while maintaining the high performance standards required in demanding applications such as printing inks.”

The initiative highlights both companies’ shared commitment to advancing sustainability through practical, scalable solutions that deliver tangible environmental benefits while reinforcing the critical role of value-chain collaboration in enabling truly sustainable packaging.

SUBSCRIBE to Get the Latest Updates from PRA    Click Here»