Avril, the French oilseed group, announced that it will invest EUR 72 million through a joint venture in the production of a resin ingredient made from rapeseed. This would help the panel industry make savings on the traditional chemicals.
Israeli start-up Biopolymer Technologies and state investment bank BPI France will form the joint venture with Avril, named Evertree, which has long fought to find new markets for oilseed crops, according to Business Standard.
A pilot is planned for launch this year, after several tests with wood panel firms would be done. After that, the plan is to progressively build industrial capacity with the aim of producing around 50,000 tonnes per year of the bio-sourced chemical by 2020-2022.
As reported by Business Standard, the innovation uses rapeseed meal - a protein-rich biomass produced when oil is extracted from rapeseed - to create an additive that reduces by 20-30 percent the amount of resin needed in wood panels, executives said at a press presentation.
The new product would have a cost advantage to the other green chemicals made for replacing the petrochemicals, which represents 50-60% of the cost of making wood panels.
"If green chemicals only represent 1 percent of the chemical sector today, it's because they face a petrochemical industry that has developed ultra-competitive products,” said Avril's Deputy Director General Michel Boucly.
Moreover, the rapeseed ingredient would reduce the use of formaldehyde, a traditional resin component that has been classified as a cancer risk, for wood panels manufacturers and especially furniture makers.
Avril group has annual sales of approximately EUR 6 billion, through biodiesel production, in which they use rapeseed oil. Evertree expects to a 2-7 euros price per kilo on its new product, which would make a potential turnover of around 200 million euros at full capacity.
