LONDON — June 14, 2017 — DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont) is the 2017 European Bio-based Materials Company of the Year, according to leading market research firm Frost & Sullivan. The company was honored with the award for its innovation in the bio-based materials market and its commitment to shaping future development in the industry.
“From the carpets in your office to the clothes on your back, DuPont innovation in biomaterials offers high-performance with less impact on the environment,” said Michael Saltzberg, global business director for biomaterials at DuPont.
DuPont continues to show commitment to researching and developing technologies that build on its proud heritage of materials innovations. As an industry leader, the company has shown both commercial and pre-commercial success in developing new biomaterials that meet the needs of customers and consumers worldwide.
For example, DuPont™ Sorona®, a high-performance, patented polymer is made with a renewable, plant-based ingredient, for use in everything from carpets to ski jackets to sarees because it brings exceptional softness, inherent stain resistance, and uncompromising durability to a variety of applications.
“The successful development of DuPont’s versatile bio-based polymer comprised of 37 percent renewable plant-based ingredients, Sorona®, demonstrates the company’s commitment to implementing innovative practices that lower reliance on fossil fuels and elevate product quality and manufacturing efficiency,” said Frost & Sullivan Vice President Leonidas Dokos. “Additionally, fiber made with Sorona® polymer possesses exceptional softness, high durability, stretch, and stain resistance, and often outperforms petroleum-based products.”
DuPont continues to bring new biomaterials innovations forward. In early 2016, DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) announced a breakthrough technology that produces a revolutionary biobased monomer, furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME), from a renewable feedstock. The groundbreaking process has potential to expand the materials landscape with applications in packaging, textiles and engineering plastics.
Until last year, FDME had long been sought-after and researched, but had not yet been available at commercial scale and at reasonable cost. ADM and DuPont have taken the initial step in the process of bringing FDME to market by moving forward on the scale-up phase of the project. An integrated 60 ton-per-year demonstration plant is currently under construction in Decatur, Illinois, and is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2017. The facility will provide potential customers with sufficient product quantities for testing and research as well as the required basic data for a planned commercial-scale plant.
“After thorough research and tracking industry best practices, there is no question that DuPont is a standout in the bio-based materials space. Frost & Sullivan believes that DuPont offers the industry innovative biomaterials, design and management,” said Dokos. “On behalf of my team at Frost & Sullivan, we’re proud to present DuPont with the 2017 European Bio-based Materials Company of the Year Award.”
DuPont — one of the first companies to publicly establish environmental goals more than 25 years ago — has broadened its sustainability commitments beyond internal footprint reduction to include market-driven targets for both revenue and research and development investment. The goals are tied directly to business growth, specifically to the development of safer and environmentally improved new products for key global markets.
Posted June 14, 2017
Source: DuPont Industrial Biosciences
