Bio-on inaugurates its first biopolymers production plant in Italy
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
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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.
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Feedstock
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Renewable plant sources with no competition with food
supply chains.
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Products and production capacity
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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.
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Investment
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20 M€ (production
hub and new research laboratories).
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Staff
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It is currently employing 45
people and is expected to double its workforce by the end of the year.
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Timeline
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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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