Michelin launches BioImpulse project to advance biotechnology in materials

French tire and materials company Michelin has launched the BioImpulse project, an initiative aimed at creating a new adhesive resin without any so-called substances of very high concern (SVHC).
 
The six-year project, which will run through 2025, has an allocated €28m budget to create a new adhesive resin without any SVHC compound and develop an industrial scale fermentation production process of a molecule of interest at a lower cost than its oil-based equivalent.
 
First presented in Brussels on 2 Oct at the European forum for industrial biotechnology and the bioeconomy, the project is coordinated by Michelin through its ResiCare entity and integrates a significant section of the value chain: from the biological production of the molecule to the performance of the resin in use.
 
The project also envisages the construction of the first industrial production unit for the adhesives by 2026, depending on the market at the time.
 
The new adhesive technology will particularly be promoted within the automotive and construction markets, wood in particular, Michelin said in a statement.
 
Supported by the French environment and energy agency (ADEME), the collaborative project brings together public and private players, including the French industrial technical center in charge of the forest , cellulose, wood-building and furniture sectors (FCBA); French public research institute for agricultural science INRA; Lyon-based university of science and technology INSA; as well as fermentation specialist Lesaffre.