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

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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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A Bond of Moral Fibre

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PRESS RELEASE

09.December 2021, Germany:

 

Bio-based tech companies India and Zelfo Technology GmbH announce a fusion of their interests. Active in agro-fibre engineering and end product manufacturing, both innovative companies have deepened their relationship together via a share exchange.

This move comes after a long courtship of 8 years involving a virtual co-habitation of each other’s businesses and continued cooperation. Both companies have played the long game, starting with a vision beyond the accepted horizon of sustainable practice back in 2014. The mutual goal was clear: to replace disposable plastic products by finding a way to make natural fibres gained from agricultural residuals a usable raw material.

Beginning with a “no limits trial and error” approach back in 2014, the two newcomers to the moulded fibre market took on an industry with little idea of what could or wouldn’t work! Cake tins, microwaves, hot plates, hand mixers etc. were used along the way to get the basis of agricultural fibre composites to mesh together. Today, their technology includes 3 unique patents, covering fibre processing, machine components as well as wet and dry fibre molding.

The share exchange of these two innovative companies strengthens their natural alliance and paves the way for greater market impact. Fibre engineering experts ZELFO Technology and Clean Tech Startup BIO-LUTIONS with their focus on natural fibre product development and manufacturing, will further intensify their cooperation in a strategic move forward. The companies have the advantage of physical proximity – both are based in Schwedt/Oder, Germany – as well as a joint vision to rid the world of problematic single use packaging. Simply put, their collective technologies come together to create a defining circular economy offer.

“This merging of our interests has been on the horizon for some time, it is simply the logical step which will enable both companies to develop their individual and collective offers at a substantially increased rate.” Remarked Richard Hurding, Managing & Technical director of Zelfo and Eduardo Gordillo, CEO & Founder of India

The key benefit they see in joining forces and pooling both their knowledge and resources, is the ability to coordinate and streamline R&D in order to accelerate innovation and the creation of new intellectual property. Furthermore, a clear advantage of the alliance will be the ability to deliver a broader solution to their clients as more stages of raw material and product development can now be jointly addressed.

 

 

ABOUT ZELFO TECHNOLOGY:

Zelfo Technology GmbH’s mission is to upgrade and valorize a wide range of cellulosic & ligno-cellulosic materials. The company’s Engineered Fibre solutions are the result of several years of know-how development resulting in a portfolio of patented systems which are powerful tools for companies looking to involve themselves in the circular economy. This is complimented by In-house expertise and a series of international partnerships which substantiate the company’s bio-based materials, design and manufacturing knowledge. Zelfo is headquartered in Brandenburg, Germany.

For more Information please contact:

Grégoire de Vilmorin – Managing Director / Business Development Zelfo Technology

E-Mail: gregoire.devilmorin@zelfo-technology.com

www.zelfo-technology.com

 

ABOUT BIO-LUTIONS:

BIO-LUTIONS is a Hamburg-based Clean Tech company that mechanically converts agricultural residues into unique, self-binding, durable fibcro® natural fibres. This patented method eliminates the need for binding agents or chemical cellulose extraction. The unique production process gives previously unused agricultural residues a second life as raw materials. These fibcro® natural fibres can now be used to produce sustainable packaging and disposable tableware, among other things. These sustainable products offer an optimal alternative to common products made of paper and plastic. The concept of decentralised production is a fundamental aspect of the BIO-LUTIONS philosophy because sustainable materials must also be sustainably sourced. The Clean Tech start-up was founded in 2017 and is currently expanding in Asia and Europe. The first factory was opened 3 years ago in Bangalore, India, and is now being followed by the approximately 1800mÇ production facility in Schwedt, Germany.

For more Information please contact:

Celine Brockmann – Corporate Communications and Marketing Manager BIO-LUTIONS

E-Mail: cb@bio-lutions.com

www.bio-lutions.com

 

All illustrations: © BIO-LUTIONS

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BIO-LUTIONS successfully completes Pre-Series B and announces Series B still for 2021

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PRESS RELEASE

Hamburg, 04 February 2021:

 

BIO-LUTIONS accelerates growth of German production site through a Pre-Series B with existing investors in the amount of 2.7 million euros

Hamburg-based CleanTech startup BIO-LUTIONS has again secured funding from its shareholders. Delivery Hero SE and other existing investors have provided 2.7 million euros in a preliminary Series B round. The more substantial Series B financing round is scheduled for later this year.

The preliminary round serves to accelerate the expansion of production at the Schwedt site in order to create larger production capacities in the future. The decision by the German parliament to adopt the EU ban on single-use plastic into German law is increasing the pressure on German industry enormously. From mid-2021, plastic straws, cutlery and other disposable plastic items are to disappear from stores in the EU.

With its sustainable packaging and disposable products made from agricultural fibers, BIO-LUTIONS offers an ideal alternative. The Hamburg-based company’s production process gives currently unused agricultural residues a second life as raw materials to replace conventional plastic and paper products.

 

 

For more information please contact:

Celine Barth Corporate – Communications and PR Manager
E-Mail: cb@bio-lutions.com

All illustrations: © BIO-LUTIONS

 

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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.

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Press Release, BIO-LUTIONS

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

 

Hamburg, 16 May 2019 – India, 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: cb@bio-lutions.com

 

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MEET THE 100 MOST INNOVATIVE STARTUPS OF GERMANY IN 2018

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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

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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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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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CHANCEN / KFW STORIES “I WANT MY LIFE TO LEAVE A MARK.”

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Chancen Magazin KfW, Olivia Höner

Eduardo Gordillo has found a way to cut down the mountains of plastic waste. His firm Bio-Lutions is manufacturing packaging material and disposable tableware made from crop waste. It’s cost-effective, 100% compostable and provides benefits for smallholders.

Mr Gordillo, 2017 is a crucial year for your firm Bio-Lutions. For five years, you have been developing and testing a new packaging material made from crop waste. Now it’s going into production.

Yes, that’s right. At the moment, we’re only manufacturing 600 kg a month in our Indian pilot plant. Once we finish extending the factory in April 2018, however, we’ll be making six tonnes a day.

Who are your customers?

Our customers include Bigbasket, India’s biggest online supermarket, as well as Licious, India’s biggest online butcher, and Coffee Day, the Indian equivalent of Starbucks. We also have distributors who sell large quantities of our disposable tableware. We have so much interest from potential customers that we’re already planning to build a second production line in 2019.

Why is there such huge demand in India?

The Indians need solutions right away. Their refuse collection system doesn’t work, and in the streets there’s just rubbish, rubbish, rubbish everywhere you look. Most of it is plastic. In India, cows are sacred and are allowed to roam freely. They eat this plastic and then they die. Here in Germany, our waste is less visible. Obviously, Germany needs to cut down on plastic packaging, too. But in other countries, the cry is more urgent: Here! Now! Immediately!

Read the whole interview by clicking on the link below.

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