Bio-on inaugurates its first biopolymers production plant in Italy

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Type of post: NEWS.

Bio-on, an Italian company focused on the bioplastic sector and listed on the AIM segment of Borsa Italiana, has just inaugurated its first owned plant designed to produce 100% natural and biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in Italy (see press release, 20/6/2018). The new facility is also the headquarters of CNS division laboratories (Cosmetic, Nanomedicine & Smart Materials) which employ over 20 researchers and can test new carbon sources from agricultural waste to produce new types of biodegradable bioplastic.

Figure 1. Bio-on inaugurates its first PHAs production plant in Italy

Location
The new production hub is located in Castel San Pietro Terme just outside Bologna in an area of 30,000 m2.
It has 3,700 m2 covered space and 6,000 m2 land for development.
It occupies no new land (there was a former factory on the site) and is powered by electric energy generated by an advanced trigeneration plant.
Feedstock
Renewable plant sources with no competition with food supply chains.
Products and production capacity
Various types of biopolymers (PHAs).
Current production capacity is 1,000 tons/year. It can be quickly doubled.
The first product to come out of the Castel San Pietro Terme plant will be Minerv Bio Cosmetics, a bioplastic microbeads for cosmetics designed to replace the oil-based plastic particles currently used, which are harmful and non-biodegradable.
Investment
20 M€  (production hub and new research laboratories).
Staff
It is currently employing 45 people and is expected to double its workforce by the end of the year.
Timeline
Placing of the first stone: March 2017.
Official inauguration: 20/06/2018.
Testing of the production process: ongoing.
Fully operational: Autumn 2018.

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