Industrial Automation Magazine India

Yokogawa Bio Frontier and Bloom Biorenewables to develop lignin biomass materials business in Japan 

Published on : Monday 05-04-2021

The agency agreement builds on the investment and partnership agreement signed by Yokogawa and Bloom in August 2020.

April 2021 – Yokogawa Bio Frontier Inc., a subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corporation (“Yokogawa”), and Swiss startup Bloom Biorenewables SA (“Bloom”) announce the signing of an agency agreement to promote biomass material in Japan. Under the agreement, Yokogawa Bio Frontier will provide Bloom’s products to potential customers in Japan in the chemical, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries who are interested in alternatives to petrochemicals, and develop market opportunities.

The agency agreement builds on the investment and partnership agreement signed by Yokogawa and Bloom in August 2020. It will enable Yokogawa Bio Frontier and Bloom to evaluate customer needs and market demand in Japan and expand the sales of Bloom’s products in the region. It is the first initiative for the newly established Yokogawa Bio Frontier, and marks the company’s first step as a provider of biomass materials to a range of industries. 

Bloom has developed ground-breaking technologies to manufacture chemicals and fuels from plant-based raw materials. The startup focuses on valorising underutilized parts of plants, such as hemicellulose or lignin found in all non-edible agricultural wastes or in wood. These new biomass-based products are expected to substitute current fossil-based materials in applications such as fragrances, flavourings, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

The potential of these biomass materials continues to attract strong attention, and Bloom has received additional investment led by the Breakthrough Energy Ventures-Europe investment fund to accelerate the market entry of its bio-based chemical products. 

Mitsuhiro Iga, president and CEO of Yokogawa Bio Frontier, commented, “This agency agreement marks the starting point for concrete business collaboration with Bloom. For Yokogawa Bio Frontier, we plan to make this initiative a key pillar of the environmental business portfolio we will build over the long-term. Moving forward, we will work closely to achieve the goal shared by both companies – the adoption of environmentally friendly materials on a global scale.”