Agricultural residues for the factory, eco-packaging for everyone

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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – 16.08.2022

The Colombian Eduardo Gordillo was looking for sustainable packaging. Now he makes them himself, using a globally unique process.

How many disposable packages have you used in the past two weeks? Coffee on the go, a snack at the kiosk, chips at the swimming pool? The used material leaves an ecological mark that makes some people think. But the moral questioning of one’s own consumer behaviour could soon become unnecessary.

The Bio-Lutions factory in Schwedt, Brandenburg, near the Polish border, is very inconspicuous in the industrial area of the border town. With 2000 square metres, it has the dimensions of a medium-sized concert hall, black paint, and it is noisy inside. Because in the brand new production facility…

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BIO-LUTIONS and PulPac reveal joint Eurostars R&D project

PRESS RELEASE – 21.07.2022

The project, that revolves around PulPac’s unique fiber forming technology and its potential to operate with fibers sourced from agricultural residues – provided by BIO-LUTIONS – has been granted financial support for cutting-edge R&D and testing, within the Eurostars innovation program. The scope is to design, build and test a prototype of a Dry Molded Fiber machine by adapting standard components, traditionally used for production of plastic products. The aim is to validate components for international packaging markets that can use agricultural residues as inputs, besides standard pulp. PulPac will address the technical challenge, while BIO-LUTIONS will support with operational requirements and conduct pilot tests with its unique fibcro® fibers.

Ove Larsson, Chief Technology Innovation Officer at PulPac comments, “We are very excited about the Eurostars project and the opportunity to investigate how Dry Molded Fiber could utilize components from the plastic industry. Surprisingly, single-use plastic production is still growing globally, albeit with more and more products being banned by governments, and consumers demanding a shift – with cellulose fibers as the obvious solution. By widening the possibilities for Dry Molded Fiber to also include plastic-machine components, we would be able to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Our solutions are plastic-free, biodegradable and recyclable but most importantly, cost-effective.”

“Combining BIO-LUTIONS’ fibcro® natural fibers sources from agricultural residues, and the Dry Molded Fiber process gives us unique opportunities. We are excited to be part of this R&D-project to validate and support with our operations expertise and test capacity” comments Eduardo Gordillo, CEO BIO-LUTIONS.

Eurostars is the largest international funding program for SMEs wishing to collaborate on R&D projects that create innovative products, processes, or services for commercialization.

 

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BIO-LUTIONS partners with PulPac – sets up large-scale Dry Molded Fiber production

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The German Clean Tech Startup BIO-LUTIONS and PulPac, the Dry Molded Fiber pioneer are natural allies in their objective to replace single-use plastics globally. Together with machine suppliers, they have developed a Dry Molded Fiber production line, set to start production in the new BIO-LUTIONS factory in Schwedt/Oder, Germany by the summer of 2022.

BIO-LUTIONS mechanically converts agricultural residues into unique, self-binding, durable fibcro® natural fibers. This patented method eliminates the need for binding agents or chemical cellulose isolation, as the whole fiber is used. From these fibers together with the dry moulding technology, BIO-LUTIONS will produce a variety of sustainable single-use disposable products such as service food items (cutlery and tableware) as well as protein,fruit and vegetable packaging. By introducing the new dry moulding technology provided by PulPac, production can now benefit from the unique cost and quality advantages compared to existing cellulose forming solutions.

The cooperation with PulPac opens the door to an additional production technology for fibre moulding, allowing for technology diversification as well as optimisation of dry moulding processes. The Dry Molded Fiber technology saves significant amounts of valuable water resources and energy, resulting in up to 80% lower CO2 footprint compared to alternatives. The process is extremely fast and more efficient than conventional fiber forming methods. While the Dry Molded Fiber technology will not be used for all BIO-LUTIONS’ products, it does offer significant production advantages for a large variety of single-use products.

“Each company brings something unique and valuable to the table. Being able to create partnerships that prioritize creating real solutions to the plastic age, rather than trying to build walls is what will make true change possible. That is why we are very excited to include dry moulding from PulPac as a second core production technique” Eduardo Gordillo, CEO BIO-LUTIONS.

“BIO-LUTIONS is an innovative and fast-moving partner. We share a doer attitude and a clear-cut commitment to replace single-use plastics at scale. Having products on the market already this year will take the concept of sustainable packaging a big leap forward. We look forward to a long-term partnership where we can share know-how and expertise to leverage the full potential of dry moulding within BIO-LUTIONS’ operations and customer network.” says Linus Larsson, CEO, PulPac AB.

 

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Building a green future
The first BIO-LUTIONS Factory in Germany

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PRESS RELEASE

Schwedt/Oder, 22. October 2020:

 

Abstract:

Sustainability made in Germany – Sustainable materials that can replace plastics across all sectors are a must for a modern, sustainable economy. We at BIO-LUTIONS have taken on precisely this task and produce sustainable disposable products from agricultural waste. With our purely  mechanical process we create stable structures and products without additional binding agents. The application of this innovative fibre technology was developed by our research team here in Germany, at our Schwedt technical centre. We opened our first factory 2 years ago in Bangalore, India and now follows the 2000m² production facility in Schwedt. As part of the Innovation Campus Schwedt, BIO-LUTIONS is a part of the new hub for innovative technology in Brandenburg. This location strengthens the development and innovation axis Berlin-Stettin and brings attractive jobs to the region. In the final stage of development, over 200 jobs will have been created and more than 1.5 billion product units will be produced annually. This corresponds to over 30,000 tonnes of avoided plastic waste.

 

The full Story:

In the industrial park at the port in Schwedt/Oder, our production facility is now being built, in which production for the European market will take place in the future. Construction started in September this year, and the official groundbreaking ceremony was held on 22 October –  in compliance with the Corona guidelines. On site were the Minister of Economic Affairs of the State of Brandenburg Prof. Dr.-Ing. Steinbach, the Mayor of the City of Schwedt/Oder Mr. Jürgen Polzehl, the speaker for sustainable area development Deputy Head of the Lower Oder Valley National Park Dr. Michael Tautenhahn, as well as other guests from politics and economy.

 

Completion of the first 1,830 m2 production hall is scheduled for spring 2021.

Freyler Industriebau Berlin/Brandenburg is in charge of the concept, planning and execution of the project, which comprises several construction phases. Completion of the first 1,830 m2 production hall is scheduled for spring 2021. Further construction phases will follow, including a hall of approximately 15,000 m2 and 700 m2 of office space. “The schedule is tight”, explains Eduardo Gordillo, founder of BIO-LUTIONS, “because the first products from Schwedt should be available by the middle of next year”. That’s when the EU regulation prohibiting the use of disposable cutlery and disposable plastic tableware will come into effect.

 

 

The building permit was issued in spring 2020.

As a result, the concept and construction planning had to be completed quickly. “In August 2019 we had an intensive exchange of ideas with BIO-LUTIONS at a Freyler concept day, and in autumn the planning for the first construction phase was completed,” reports Jens Wollschläger, head of the Freyler Industriebau Berlin/Brandenburg division. The building permit was issued in spring 2020. The new production hall will create around 40 new jobs in the first stage. The production hall will have a span of 27 m due to its steel supporting structure and will be divided into three sections with internal sandwich panel walls.

 

The 7,841 m2 site also has space for a further hall and an office building – these are to be realised in two further construction phases by 2022. Then Eduardo Gordillo also expects the workforce to grow to up to 200 employees. “In future, we want to process a total of about 72,000 tonnes of our bio-material in twelve production lines,” he continues.

 

 

Schwedt is already home to our research facilities. 

BIO-LUTIONS’ research has been based in Schwedt for several years with a test production facility and has, among other things, helped develop the innovative fibre technology on the basis of which the sustainable disposable products are now produced. Two years ago, the first factory opened in India, with Schwedt now following as the second production site. BIO-LUTIONS innovative solutions aren’t the only way the company protects the environment, the startup also sets standards in terms of environmental protection during production. For example, a special technology is used here that requires hardly any water in the production process.

 

BIO-LUTIONS is part of the Innovation Campus Schwedt, a new centre for technology innovation in Brandenburg. With more than 1.5 billion product units that BIO-LUTIONS intends to produce annually, more than 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste would be avoided – a truly outstanding goal for our environment and the future of our planet.

 

Further information:

At www.bio-lutions.com you can find more information about BIO-LUTIONS and our innovative product solutions.

Additional information about FREYLER Industriebau GmbH and its projects can be found at www.freyler.de.

All illustrations: © BIO-LUTIONS

 

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The Hamburg-based start-up BIO-LUTIONS successfully concludes its Series-A financing round with €8.3M.

Press Release, BIO-LUTIONS

Delivery Hero SE and DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH are partnering with
BIO-LUTIONS International AG by investing in the international expansion of the company.

 

Hamburg, 16 May 2019 – BIO-LUTIONS International AG, the Hamburg-based manufacturer of ecological packaging and disposable tableware made from agricultural residues, announced today that they have secured €8.3M with Delivery Hero SE and the KfW subsidiary DEG among the key investors.

Following the successful establishment of a production plant in India, BIO-LUTIONS has seen a surge in demand for its sustainable products, including the interest of large global retailers. The green tech start-up plans to use the new funds to kick-start its global expansion, first by increasing production in India and second by building new production facilities in Europe and Asia.

BIO-LUTIONS was founded in 2017 by Eduardo Gordillo and Stefan W. Dircks and has
co-developed a patented technology that makes it possible to produce packaging and disposable tableware from a variety of agricultural residues without the need for additional binding agents or chemicals. The use of agricultural residues – which are globally available and until now have mostly been disposed of for a fee as waste products – significantly reduces raw material costs. This, for the first time, enables a sustainable product to compete with disposable plastic products in terms of price.

In addition to this, BIO-LUTIONS acts according to a model of positive social and ecological impact in India, by sourcing its raw materials such as sugar cane leaves and banana stems from local smallholders. This offers farmers an additional source of income and thus helps to reduce poverty among the rural population. The use of agricultural residues also reduces air pollution by providing an alternative to the incineration of crop residues.

BIO-LUTIONS Founder and CEO Eduardo Gordillo stated: „A partnership with two internationally operating firms such as Delivery Hero and the DEG, makes it possible for a young company like BIO-LUTIONS to realise their expansion strategy. This important step enables BIO-LUTIONS to sustainably build our team, our production sites and our customer portfolio. It is an honour and a privilege to work with these renowned companies moving forward.”

Christiane Laibach, spokeswoman for DEG’s management commented: “We are delighted to continue to support BIO-LUTIONS, a young, innovative company on its way. Our investment today follows our initial investment into the company in form of our Up-scaling programme. We see great promise in the production of alternatives to plastic packaging made from plant residues”.

Emmanuel Thomassin, Chief Financial Officer at Delivery Hero added: “Participating in the financing of BIO-LUTIONS helps us to further implement our long-term strategy – with BIO-LUTIONS we have a new and important addition to our portfolio which has high social and ecological value.”

 

 

For more information please contact:

Celine Barth, Corporate Communications and PR Manager

Email: [email protected]

 

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MEET THE 100 MOST INNOVATIVE STARTUPS OF GERMANY IN 2018

Forbes, Nina Angelovska

The Hundert is a Berlin-based startup project and print magazine featuring outstanding companies and their founders since 2013. Every issue puts 100 amazing startups in the spotlight and tells their stories. Previous editions include 100 Female Founders Europe, 100 Startups New York and 100 Startups Berlin—the most famous one so far. The printed magazine of each edition can be found at various events and conferences across Europe. Their freshest edition Vol. 11 features the 100 most innovative startups of Germany. 

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The most innovative startups represent various sectors: Software as a service (16), IoT (9), FinTech (8), Digital Health (7), Industrial software and technology (5), Media and marketing (5), Logistics (4), Blockchain (4), Logistics (4), AI (3), Robotics (3), Platform as a service (3), Insuretech (3),  and other tech-related sectors.

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TO TACKLE INDIA’S GROWING WASTE PROBLEM, SOME COMPANIES ARE CHANGING THE WAY THEY PACKAGE PRODUCTS

The demand for sustainable packaging, made of paper, jute, cloth and even plants, is increasing around the country.

In the eastern suburbs of India’s financial capital Mumbai is a 132-hectare-wide mountain of garbage. Known as the Deonardumping ground, it has long exceeded its capacity as a landfill. Attempts to ensure a scientific closure of the site have yet to materialise, and it frequently reminds residents in neighbouringareas of its presence by catching fireand sending pollution levels in the city soaring. With the pollution come discussions about the large amounts of waste Indian cities are generating.

India produces an estimated 62 million tonnesof municipal solid waste annually, a figure which is likely to reach 165 million tonnesby 2030. As per a 2015 study by the Central Pollution Control Board, close to 26,000 tonnesof plastic waste is generated every day in the country. While there have been efforts to address this problem – in June, the Maharashtra government banned single-use plastic, among the 25 Indian states and union territories to do so – the implementation continues to be lax. According to the industry body FICCI, the plastic packaging industry in India is worth $32 billion, and India exports to 150 countries.

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Technology is now providing some alternatives. Bio-lutions, a German company that uses agricultural waste to produce packaging as well as tableware, successfully completed its pilot project in Bengaluru’s Jakkurneighbourhoodand their first full-fledged plant began operations in September in Ramanagara, 40 km away from the city. The plant will use 1,500 to 2,000 tonnesof fibresannually – from plants like sugarcane, banana and tomato – along with wheat and rice straw bought locally from the farmers in Mandya, and convert it all into packaging for fruits and vegetables, electronics, trays for surgical equipment and bio-plastic foil for materials that require a waterproof surface. Eduardo Gordillo, who founded Bio-lutionsin 2012, feels there is a market for companies like his in India because of the waste management problem in the country. “The industry retailers are looking for alternatives because of the ban on plastic bags,” said Gordillo. “While plastic and paper are cheap, technologies like ours can make alternatives at competitive prices.” He believes technology like the one Bio-lutionsoffers can help provide farmers a profitable outlet as well.

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HOW TO BEAT AIR POLLUTION? STOP BURNING THE FIELDS

Instead of contributing to smog by burning stubble, farmers are learning that waste products can be turned into profit

A study conducted by Harvard’s John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences said: “On certain days, during peak fire season, air pollution in Delhi, which is located downwind of the fire, is about 20 times higher than the threshold for safe air as defined by WHO.”

But now a slew of private companies are coming up with a range of offerings they say can help.

A Hamburg-based company called Bio-lutions has set up a factory near Bangalore to convert agricultural residue into fibres that can be used for packing material and tableware. The end products could also help tackle the burgeoning plastic crisis, as they are as cheap as plastic to produce, and take about three months to biodegrade.

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THESE GREEN WARRIORS ARE MAKING SPOONS OUT OF WASTE, AND CUTLERY YOU CAN EAT

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The Print, Soniya Agrawal

These are innovations needed desperately in India, which generates an estimated 1 lakh metric tonnes of solid waste daily

New Delhi: Imagine a takeout where you can eat the box once you are done with the meal. The alternative would be throwing it away with the comforting knowledge that it won’t fester in our oceans for decades, choking marine life, or poison the food chain of our strays.

A host of companies across India are churning out green tableware and packaging containers made from waste, a welcome intervention for a country that generates an estimated 1 lakh metric tonnes of solid waste daily and doesn’t have a disposal system capable of handling it. Other companies, meanwhile, seek to tackle the problem from the other end, tapping food products to make cutlery that is edible.

BIO-LUTIONS, a Germany-based company with operations on the ourskirts of Bengaluru, derives products like trays, boxes and other kinds of packaging from agricultural waste sourced from farmers in the nearby villages of Mandya and Tumkur.

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GREENTECH AWARD 2018 TOP 3

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BIO-LUTIONS Int. AG

Last night BIO-LUTIONS attended the gala night of the Greentech Award 2018. We were honorred to be inivted as a finalist and enjoyed meeting such a large number of inspirational people and companies. Congratulations to all the participants and winners and thank you very much to the organizers of the Greentech Award.

Check out our Finalist Exposé by clicking the link below.

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