“We believe we can be part of the much-needed change in the chemical industry”

Industry partners are essential to the work of Mistra SafeChem. In this second phase of the programme, nine partners are contributing valuable expertise. Here we introduce three of them. More to come!

Enginzyme will provide its enzyme immobilisation technology

Federica Ruggieri is a senior scientist at Enginzyme, mainly involved in developing immobilised enzyme formulations for internal and customer projects.

Why did Enginzyme decide to become a Mistra SafeChem partner?

– Enginzyme was created in 2014 with the vision to make chemistry cleaner, safer and more efficient for the planet’s and our own benefit. In these ten years, we have successfully introduced more of nature’s chemical machinery into the chemical industry by harnessing the potential of enzymes as clean, precise, renewable and efficient catalysts for sustainable manufacturing at commercial scale. The principle of Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) at the core of the Mistra SafeChem programme resonated strongly with us. By joining forces we believe we can be part of the much-needed change in the chemical industry. We hope Mistra SafeChem’s outputs will become new paradigms for the whole chemical industry.

What do you expect from the programme?

– Through the activities and collaborations we hope to promote the use of enzymatic catalysis for industrial applications and to support our Mistra SafeChem partners with our expertise in the field to implement novel solutions centred on sustainable biomanufacturing. At the same time, we are eager to learn as much as possible from the Mistra SafeChem partners about areas adjacent to our own, both to establish durable collaborations and to be inspired to improve our own solutions further.

How does your company intend to contribute to the work?

– Enginzyme will mostly be involved in the work package 4, Design and management of chemicals, materials and processes, and in case study 5, Safer and more sustainable by design in biocatalysis. We are providing our Mistra SafeChem partners with access to our patented enzyme immobilisation technology and sharing our know-how about biocatalyst design, optimisation and formulation. The ultimate goal is to develop novel biocatalytic processes and approaches together and to evaluate their safety and sustainability profiles by taking advantage of the tools developed by other Mistra SafeChem participants.

LigniCore look forward to the case study on lignin-based materials

Pierre Munier is the CTO of LigniCore.

Why did LigniCore decide to become a Mistra SafeChem partner?

– The core of our innovation is the valorisation of lignin and other residual biomass feedstocks, via their modification and use in functional materials. As a result, the materials we want to bring to the customers have the potential to be very sustainable, but they are also not very well known. We therefore want to join our efforts with those of green chemistry and toxicology experts to ensure our materials are not only sustainable by design, but also safe. As a small start-up company, we are very grateful to be a part of Mistra SafeChem, where we can collaborate with excellent academic researchers as well as a broad spectrum of industrial partners, from global actors to other SMEs.

What do you expect from the programme?

– Having participated in the previous iteration of Mistra SafeChem, we expect continued fruitful collaborations with a wide range of experts that will help us bring the best possible materials to the market. This time, we are particularly excited to be at the heart of a case study focusing on lignin-based materials.

How does LigniCore intend to contribute to the work?

– We will contribute by providing access to the materials we develop, as well as all the relevant data to assess their life cycle impact and safety. We will interact closely with academic partners to ensure that the obtained datasets are as accurate and applied as possible.

Stockhom Vatten och Avfall wants to better protect its waters

Johan Fång is an environmental chemist at Stockholm Vatten och Avfall.

Why did Stockholm Vatten och Avfall decide to become a Mistra SafeChem partner?

– We want to increase our knowledge of early warning methods in order to better understand and protect our waters. It is an exciting programme and apart from what we are involved in together with Stockholm University, the predictive in silico methods are very interesting.

What do you expect from the programme?

– A better understanding of how we can improve the monitoring of our waters.

How does Stockholm Vatten och Avfall intend to contribute to the work?

– Mainly through sampling and the interpretation of results from study.