ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN, April 6th, 2018— Ecovia Renewables Inc. announced today that the company has signed a multi-year joint-development agreement with Seppic Inc, a member of the Seppic Group, a leading designer and manufacturer of specialty ingredients. Under the agreement, the two parties will co-develop a suite of high-performing, biobased and biodegradable polymers for topical applications in the health and beauty markets. Similarly, Seppic will have exclusive marketing rights to products made using Ecovia’s technology, a proprietary fermentation platform inspired by Ecovia CEO Dr. Jeremy Minty’s work on engineering microbial ecosystems.
“We are excited to work with a leading specialty ingredient manufacturer that recognizes the importance of providing high quality, naturally-derived products to customers,” Jeremy Minty stated, “through this partnership we can reach more customers with products that adhere to our mission of commercializing sustainable processes.”
Seppic has been a global supplier of premium specialty ingredients for more than 70 years and is recognized worldwide for reliably delivering quality products to its customers. They are uniquely positioned to add significant value to Ecovia’s commercialization efforts with the health and beauty segment. Demand for renewable ingredients has increased dramatically in the last ten years, especially in Europe and North America.
Separately, Ecovia has raised an initial $1 million seed round to fund near-term R&D, product development, and bioprocess scale-up activities. Seppic is also an investor in this round. With this investment, Ecovia is excited to name Caroline Drouart as a Board Director.
“This partnership on biopolymers is fully aligned with both Ecovia Renewables’ commercialization strategy and Seppic’s strategy to design and market ingredients that bring strong environmental and health benefits. It is very exciting to join the board of Ecovia Renewables at this significant milestone” stated Caroline Drouart.
In addition to health and beauty, Ecovia™ Biopolymers offer distinct performance advantages over competing materials. Applications under investigation range from soil additives for water retention to super-absorbent cores for infant diapers to dispersants for detergents, among many others.
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About Ecovia Renewables:
Ecovia Renewables Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the research and development of high-performing biobased chemicals and fuels. It was founded in 2014 by Dr. Jeremy Minty and Dr. Nina Lin to commercialize their pioneering research on engineering custom microbial systems. More information about Ecovia Renewables is available on the company website at www.ecoviarenewables.com or can be requested by emailing bd@ecoviarenewables.com.
About Seppic:
Seppic Inc. is a member of the Seppic Group, a company of Air Liquide Healthcare. Seppic designs and markets a wide range of specialty ingredients for health and beauty. Present in 100 countries through its subsidiaries and its network of distributors, Seppic employs 700 people worldwide, including 100 employees dedicated to innovation. www.seppic.com