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Direvo Industrial Biotechnology GmbH is commercializing its BluCon™ — platform for complete, one-step conversion of non-food feedstocks to carbohydrates used in the production of fuels and chemicals. In the recent years Direvo has undertaken a huge research program identifying a portfolio of proprietary microorganisms, which enable the lowest cost production of valuable chemicals from non-food biomass. The BluCon™ platform is extremely flexible both for the type of feedstock and the resultant high value fuels and chemicals produced. BluCon™ converts various non-food biomass ranging from grasses and straw to agricultural and wood residues and can therefore be applied around the globe. From an end product perspective, BluCon™ delivers transportation fuels like ethanol or chemical building blocks like lactic acid. "After two years of extremely hard work, we are very excited to use our BluCon™ platform in solving global raw material supply and environmental concerns. Our technolo

The Bayflex® Lightweight polyurethane system from  Bayer  MaterialScience was honored with the "10th MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2012" at the MATERIALICA trade fair in Munich, Germany. A top-rank jury presented the "Best of" Award in the category "Material" for the high-performance and tough-elastic polyurethane construction material, which even floats on water due to its low density. "We are delighted with this recognition of our commitment to sustainable material solutions," said Dr. Birgit Meyer zu Berstenhorst, project manager for this development. "Our new material weighs up to 30 percent less than the standard material and is thus a perfect fit for future drive concepts such as electric mobility." This solution's light weight is attributable to the high-performance polyurethane system Bayflex® Lightweight together with a sophisticated combination of fillers instead of the mineral fibers used previously. "

Jindal Poly Films Ltd (JPFL), a leading flexible packaging films producer, has entered into an agreement with ExxonMobil Chemical (ExxonMobil) to purchase  ExxonMobil's Biaxially Oriented  Polypropylene  ( BOPP ) Global Films  business. The agreement was signed on 26th October, 2012. The transaction remains subject to necessary approvals from regulatory authorities. Mr. Hemant Sharma, CEO, JPFL said "We are excited to buy this business due to its excellent portfolio of premium products along with industry leading technology and R&D. We are equally excited to be acquiring an experienced and capable workforce. We are confident that, in combination with our existing Indian operations, we will be able to deliver effective long-term solutions to our customers globally." The agreement covers five  BOPP  production locations in the U.S. and Europe. The manufacturing sites are in Georgia and Oklahoma in the U.S. and in Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium in Europe. The