Page 158 - CW E-Magazine (2-4-2024)

News from Abroad

FERMENTATION PRODUCTS
AAK Partners with Checkerspot to develop new

sustainable algae oil

Checkerspot, a US-based biotech- and sustainable. We are excited to tap
nology company that makes renewable into their innovation platform to deve-
oils through fermentation of micro- lop and commercialise new oils using
algae for performance products and microalgae,” said Mr. Kim Olofsson,
food ingredients, and AAK, a Swedish Global Head of R&D at AAK.
ingredient house specialised in plant-
based fats and oils, have announced a AAK’s plant-based oils and fats are
joint development agreement to deve- used in a wide variety of applications
lop, scale, and commercially produce in the food, confectionery, pharma-
an alternative source of structuring fats ceutical, cosmetic, chemical and
and oils. animal feed industries.

Consumers and global brands “With forward-thinking partners
continue to push for new plant-based like AAK, we can bring new solutions
options. The crux of the challenge is to the table. Our team at Checkerspot
to develop new fats and oils that meet is able to identify and bring a strain of
three criteria: they can be produced at microalgae all the way through pro-
scale; provide unique consumer expe- of unique oils and their expertise in duct development and scale up, for
rience; and are less vulnerable to microalgae fermentation make them a cost-effective, market-ready solu-
climate change. the ideal partner for us to collaborate tion that meets demanding consumer
with to meet the growing demand for expectations,” said Mr. Scott Franklin,
“Checkerspot’s growing portfolio alternatives that are both functional Co-founder & CSO of Checkerspot.
BASF setting up fermentation plant for crop protection

products in Germany

BASF has broken ground on its new
fermentation plant for biological and bio-
technology-based crop protection pro-
ducts in Ludwigshafen, Germany. During
the ceremony, Dr. Uwe Liebelt, (Presi-
dent European Site and Verbund Man-
agement), Ms. Heather Remley (Presi-
dent, Engineering & Technical Expertise,
Ludwigshafen) and Mr. Christian Aucoin
(Senior Vice President, Global Opera-
tions at BASF Agricultural Solutions)
buried a time capsule, commemorating
the groundbreaking day of the plant.

The plant is expected to go into opera-
tion in the second half of 2025 and will building block of Inscalis, its branded rials such as glucose into the desired
manufacture biological fungicides and insecticide derived from a fungal strain. products. The plant will employ 30
biological seed treatment products. In the production microorganisms are people in production, logistics, engi-
BASF also plans to produce the main used to convert renewable raw mate- neering and maintenance.

158 Chemical Weekly April 2, 2024

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