PHA plastic developer Newlight Technologies has partnered with Germany-based biopolymer developer Biomer to expand sales of greenhouse gas-based PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) plastics with Newlight’s acquisition of Biomer’s intellectual property including functional modification of PHAs.

Newlight said it will combine its high yield greenhouse gas-to-PHA conversion and functionalization technologies with Biomer’s expertise in the functional modification of PHA plastics to generate high-performance, cost-effective, sustainable PHA materials.

Newlight is currently selling its greenhouse gas-derived PHA plastics to customers with applications ranging from films to furniture partss to storage containers, including an $8bn consumer goods manufacturer and one of the largest classroom and office furniture manufacturers in the US. The company is in the process of significantly expanding production.

In a previous post about Newlight Technologies, the company said it has scaled up its capacity last year and has since been producing at a rate of more than 100,000 lbs/year at its Southern California facility.

Newlight Technologies headquarter

PHAs are semi-crystalline thermoplastic polyesters that are fully biodegradable in anaerobic and aerobic conditions. I came across this patent application from Newlight Technologies filed September 2012, about their method for producing PHAs, which might be interesting to scientists out there.

As far as Biomer is concern, the company has long been producing polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) polymer, which is a type of PHA. In my last research on global PHA producers, Biomer has a facility in Krailing, Germany, with a capacity of 1,000 tonnes/year producing P-3HB.