News
12-11-2020
TNO officially launches Biorizon spin-off Relement in presence of Dutch State Secretary
TNO’s 25th spin-off company, Relement, was announced during a digital working visit by Mona Keijzer, State Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK). Biorizon spin-off Relement creates chemical building blocks based on bio-residuals instead of oil, thereby helping to make the chemical industry more sustainable.
Relement originated in the Tech Transfer programme that was set up more than three years ago to bring TNO’s knowledge to the market and thus realise societal impact. It was fitting that the State Secretary who is responsible for innovation and entrepreneurship (among other things) be involved in this important milestone.
Relement uses TNO knowledge to create new chemical ingredients based on bio-residuals instead of oil. These ingredients are of a higher quality than the fossil variants. For example, paint with these ingredients is more resistant to sunlight and insulating foam becomes stronger.
State Secretary Mona Keijzer (EZK): “I congratulate Roger Blokland, Managing Director and Founder of Relement, on this new company based on Dutch knowledge. And, of course, the same goes to TNO for their 25th spin-off. It is enormously important that a smart idea reaches the market quickly via entrepreneurs. This creates jobs and is also good for society – in the case of Relement, by making residual products (which everyone turns their noses up at) usable again. Thanks to institutions such as TNO, innovation can benefit our entire country.”
Relement
Relement is a spin-off of TNO and was established for the development, production and marketing of bio-aromatics developed by TNO within the Biorizon Shared Research Center. Aromatics are essential raw materials for coatings, adhesives, insulating foams and other high-quality applications. 40% of all chemical building blocks consist of aromatics, which can currently only be produced from fossil raw materials. Relement wants to replace the current fossil aromatics with special bio-aromatics which are both much more sustainable and – above all – higher quality.
Roger Blokland, CEO and co-founder of Relement: “It’s fantastic news that Relement has become the ‘silver anniversary’ 25th spin-off of TNO. This helps us to find investors who share our sustainable vision. Paints, adhesives and lubricants are all products that we use every day. Our chemical ingredients are able to make these products not only more sustainable but also much better in terms of quality. I’m convinced that this unique technology will make an important contribution to increased sustainability in the chemical industry.”
Tech Transfer
TNO’s mission is to develop innovative knowledge and to apply that knowledge in order to create societal impact. This knowledge leads mainly to application by existing partners of TNO, companies and public authorities. When external capital is required to convert the knowledge into products, TNO opts for an additional method of achieving this: the creation of new companies. TNO therefore began the Tech Transfer programme over three years ago with the aim of getting the knowledge to the market.
Within the programme, this is done by developing business cases, doing market research, connecting entrepreneurs and involving investors. This creates new companies which can use TNO knowledge for employment and economic growth. In addition, these companies contribute to societal challenges such as the energy transition, security and health.
“The Tech Transfer programme makes an excellent contribution to the actual application of TNO’s innovations on the market. This applies to Relement but also to the 24 spin-offs which were previously established – results to be proud of,” says Cis Marring, CFO and a member of the TNO Executive Board.
See also:
Relement BV introduces bio-aromatics to the market
Relement BV was founded in Bergen op Zoom in the quiet of summer this year: the first company to focus on the commercial production and marketing of bio-aromatics developed under the Biorizon programme. Relement was founded by and is a spin-off of TNO, the developer of this specific bio-aromatics technology within the Biorizon programme.
Vacancy: Biorizon spin-off Relement is looking for a CTO
During last year’s annual event, Roger Blokland announced the launch of Relement, a spin-off of from TNO activities within the Biorizon Shared Research Center. Relement develops, produces and sells specialty bio-aromatics to make paint better quality, lubricants more stable and insulation material stronger. Now, Relement is looking for a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in Delft.
Sugar Horizon
In Horizon II, Biorizon co-initiator TNO uses expert knowledge on furan chemistry and Diels-Alder technology for the development of functionalized renewable bio-aromatics. Di-acids and tri-acids like phthalic acid and hemimellitic acid with novel functionalities can be used directly in a final application, have high economic value, and can be readily obtained from biomass without losing much of their intrinsic functionality. Local residual feedstock is used, which contributes to the efficient and responsible use of resources in industries where recycling is difficult or even impossible.
Process
Local residual feedstock, such as sludge, manure and agro-residue, which is rich in carbohydrates (C5-sugars), is converted into furfural. Furfural serves as intermediate for the route to renewable bio-aromatics. Via the versatile Diels-Alder technology platform, aromatics of choice can be obtained from furfural. By using various starting materials, a portfolio of >50 different renewable aromatics can be obtained for applications such as lubricants, polymers, adhesives, coatings and plastics.
Current focus
The focus of Horizon II has been twofold: technology is developed to convert residual biomass streams into furans, and the Diels-Alder chemistry platform is developed for various functional aromatics. At present, the production of three novel specialty circular aromatics, 3-methylphthalic anhydride (3MPA), hemi-mellitic acid (HMA) and 3-methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride (3MHHPA), is most advanced and available at the multikilogram scale. We gladly offer companies the opportunity to conduct application testing to evaluate the properties of these highly functionalized renewable aromatics. Promising applications for these novel renewable aromatics are in adhesives, polymers, coatings and lubricants, respectively.
More information
If you share our ambition and want to collaborate with our Shared Research Center, please join our community, visit the Biorizon headquarters at the Green Chemistry Campus in Bergen op Zoom (NL) or reach out to our business development managers.
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This project is made possible by a contribution from the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the framework of OP-Zuid.
