Biopolymer producer NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnesota / USA; www.natureworksllc.com) and technology company Avantium (Amsterdam / The Netherlands; www.avantium.com) have agreed to cooperate on the development of a new generation of polymers made from renewable resources. The companies said the partnership is based on Avantium’s work in deriving monomers and polymers from non-food biomass and on NatureWorks’ experience in developing end markets and products for its “Ingeo” PLA.

NatureWorks will start by testing a selection of Avantium’s polymers for a range of applications, such as personal electronics, automotive, fibres and engineering plastics. The testing period is expected to last about a year, and the new biopolymers, which will complement NatureWorks’ existing Ingeo portfolio, would be launched a few years later. Tom van Aken, Avantium’s chief executive, said: “NatureWorks’ experience in commercialising new polymers, combined with our proprietary technology, may result in a new sustainable alternative to petroleum-based products.”

NatureWorks is now fully owned by Cargill (Minneapolis, Minnesota / USA; www.cargill.com) after the US group bought Teijin’s (Tokyo / Japan; www.teijin.co.jp) stake in their former joint venture – see Plasteurope.com of 07.07.2009.