nir-vana innovation network

The Danish company is an innovative company with focus on fighting against toxic petrochemical pollution. The Danish company develops next-generation manufacturing processes and bio-fabricated materials with the power to replace intensive man-made and fossil-based materials such as petrochemicals.

The Danish company uses bio-fabrication with the end-goal that brand and manufacturing partners can meet sustainability goals by using the company´s bio-cellulose material, which is made out of market-sourced, bio-converted excess sugars. The material is a bio-cellulose water-based suspension that can act as a rheological modifier, moisturiser, and has potential as an active ingredient in personal care formulations. It replaces its fossil-based counterparts to decrease the environmental footprint of the finished materials or products and enables the transition to a circular economy. It is bio-based, free of volatile organic compounds and solvents, recyclable, biodegradable, microplastic-free, and with a low CO2 footprint.

The Danish company works closely with their development partners to produce an ingredient that is designed specifically to their needs and using their currently used technology for easy incorporation. They believe that they are the only one to offer a technology platform that allows obtaining bio-cellulose fibres with adjustable size, porosity, geometry, and crystallinity by selecting the carbon source, bacteria strain, and fermentation conditions. The material´s properties can be modulated without the need for intensive treatments or functionalisation. This is not possible with traditional wood pulp extraction methods.

The Danish company is currently in the R&D stage with the aim to launch the product on the market in 2023. They are now focusing on finding partners in the personal care market, more specifically cosmetic formulators under a technical cooperation agreement, that can help them validate their value proposition and understand market challenges and opportunities to co-create a material that can replace the remaining fossil-based components used in everyday personal care products.

Advantages & innovations

- The product is a fossil-free, bio-fabricated material grown from plant‐based renewable raw materials. - It offers reduced emissions, with CO2 emissions up to 80% lower than traditional plastics. - The material is water-based, and cuts out all harmful solvents and volatile organic compounds. - The product offers a responsible end-of-life, is biodegradable by design, allowing the production of circular products that are easily recycled. - The company works closely with many development partners and the material produced is designed specifically to their needs and uses their current technology, in order to be easily incorporated into production processes. - The company's patented process is the only one that obtains bio-cellulose fibres with adjustable size, porosity, geometry and crystallinity, by selecting the carbon source, bacteria strain and fermentation conditions. This means that the properties can be modulated without the need for intensive treatments or functionalisation, which is not the case for traditional wood pulp extraction methods.

Stage of development

Proposal under development

Partner sought

The Danish company is currently looking for partners in the personal care market, who work with cosmetic formulation and who can provide feedback to the Danish company under a technical cooperation agreement, in order to assist in the co-creation process to ensure that the material developed suits the company's needs. The ideal partner will also be aware of the challenges of removing fossil-based components from personal care products.