Following on from other recent announcements in the field, Umicore has announced a 5-50, €3 billion joint venture to supply precursor and cathode material production to the European battery cell factories of PowerCo, the Volkswagen Group’s battery company. No site has yet been chosen.

This will begin in 2025 by supplying PowerCo’s factory in Salzgitter. They aim to reach 40 GWh cell/year capacity in 2026 and to quadruple that to 160 by 2030, depending on market and demand development. This would be equivalent to what is needed to power about 2.2 million full electric vehicles.

Italian CDMO and API supplier Olon has presented a two-year, €30 million plan to expand its Settimo Torinese Biotech Hub near Turin. This focuses on microbial fermentation and is claimed to have “some of the most extensive know-how” on the subject in Europe”. The plan focuses on therapeutic peptides based on Olon’s expertise in the development of rDNA peptides and proteins.

Flavours and fragrances giant Givaudan has agreed a research collaboration for the development of sustainable fragrance ingredients from renewable carbon, with US-based LanzaTech, which describes itself as a carbon capture and transformation (CCT) company. No commercial terms were disclosed.

Japan’s Kao Corporation has joined the $120 million venture previously announced by Genomatica and Unilever to scale and commercialise plant-based alternatives to palm kernel oil. The firm described this is as a key move towards meeting goals of becoming carbon-neutral by 2040 carbon-negative by 2050, by making responsibly sourced palm oil and derivatives a critical feedstock.

Afyren Neoxy has opened its first large-scale biorefinery at Carling Saint-Avold in north-eastern France on time and within budget. Construction began in December 2020 and commissioning took place in June.

The plant uses fermentation technology based on natural microorganisms, followed by extraction and purification steps to make seven 100% biobased organic acids from sugar beet. This is sourced in the immediate region, where it is a common crop.

Dutch start-up RheoCube has opened up its first US office in the Cambridge Innovation Center in Boston to accelerate the commercial expansion there. Further new locations are planned, which will be announced later.

The company, which was built by scientific modellers, experimentalists and other experts within Electric Ant Lab, markets a cloud-based experimental research platform. This is claimed to offer R&D scientists “a digital and fully integrated research solution to test hypotheses, reduce costly trial-and-error and accelerate their research”.

A new player has emerged in the manufacture and sourcing of raw materials and ingredients for the life sciences and speciality chemicals markets, in the form of Actylis.

Speaking at a press conference to launch the new brand identity, CEO Gilles Cottier described Actylis as “an entirely new and transformed company designed for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century”. It has “a uniquely flexible portfolio of GMP and non-GMP materials”, he added, and can provide “a unique hybrid of manufacturing and sourcing to best meet your needs”.