How an idea becomes a market-ready product is shown by a successfully implemented project within our Chemistry Cluster: Coatings and fillers manufacturer MIPA SE was searching for alternative, sustainable fillers for a new product line. The goal was to test powdered, insoluble substances as substitutes for conventional mineral fillers – ideally sourced from residual or recycled materials.
Within a short time, we were able to propose three potential partner companies to MIPA that had suitable materials and expertise. Two of these connections led to matchmaking meetings facilitated by us – with open discussions on requirements, technical feasibility, and sustainability potential.
A conversation with Otto A. Müller Recycling GmbH, a company specialized in raw and residual materials, ultimately provided the decisive idea: cork flour, a fine-grained by-product of flooring production, could serve as a functional filler.
Cork flour, as a secondary raw material with advantageous properties such as low hardness, natural coloring, and rheological effects, proved itself in practical testing as a functional filler in putty products. These material characteristics significantly contribute to the final product’s optimal coverage, excellent sandability, and high processing comfort.
After internal optimizations, MIPA presented the result at the FAKUMA 2024 trade fair: a styrene-free 2K PE lightweight filler based on natural and regenerative fillers. The product impresses not only with its sustainability but also with its outstanding performance characteristics.
The project is a prime example of how the intelligent use of unavoidable side streams can lead to the development of market-ready, sustainable products and open up new application potentials. Thanks to targeted partner matchmaking and impulses from the Cluster, a concrete solution was created that is both ecologically and economically convincing.
Whether sustainable raw materials, industrial by-products, or future-proof formulations – we support our partners in rapidly turning new approaches into tangible products. With experience, industry know-how, and a strong network.
Do you have a project in mind? Get in touch with us!
In the world of chemistry, everything revolves around reactions and connections. But sometimes, it’s not the chemical bonds – it’s the human connections that spark the most exciting reactions.
A recent success story within the Chemistry Cluster impressively demonstrates the strength of our network and our commitment to sustainability.
An innovation center in Franconia offered a filling plant it no longer needed – free for collection. Instead of letting it go to waste, we saw an opportunity for our network and informed our members. The response was overwhelming: within just five minutes, we received the first feedback from our network. In total, three companies expressed interest.
Within two weeks, the plant had found a new home at a medium-sized company in Bavaria – a classic win-win situation.
This story highlights the advantages of being a Chemistry Cluster member:
Cross-industry collaboration: Connections that go beyond sector boundaries.
Unconventional opportunities: A platform for the straightforward exchange of resources.
Living sustainability: Actively supporting circular economy and resource reuse.
Efficiency: Quick responses and effective solutions enabled by our strong network.
Interested in becoming part of our network and enjoying its benefits? We’d love to hear from you!
Copyright: Eckart GmbH & Lignopure GmbH
As part of our cluster work, it is important to us to bring startups and established companies together and to initiate cooperations. We have also achieved this in the successful collaboration between Lignopure and ECKART, who announced their joint distribution partnership in May 2023. This partnership positively influences the distribution and development of cosmetic formulations with multifunctional upcycled ingredients of the start-up Lignopure.
The successful journey of the joint cooperation started already in 2021. During one of our regular member meetings, we learned from ECKART about your interest in sustainable ingredients and bio-based substances. After extensive research, ECKART was presented with a list of potential start-ups and companies and Lignopure was identified as an interesting partner. Already in April 2021, a first meeting to get to know each other took place, initiated and moderated by Chemie-Cluster. The talks were promising and subsequently the first sample exchange took place and the joint cooperation started.
We wish continued success for the joint collaboration!
“As a startup and small company, it is crucial to have access to partners who can help you accelerate your development or validate your business idea. In our case, the cluster is particularly relevant due to its focus on chemistry, biotechnology and bioeconomy. ECKART, which was introduced to us by Chemie Cluster Bayern, was not only relevant to our commercial development, but we also gained a partner who believed in us from the beginning and has walked the path of business and product development with us over the past years. We are very grateful for this opportunity and would like to encourage other startups to expand their networks through platforms like CCB”
Joana Gil – Founder & CEO of Lignopure
“It has been an enrichment to work with Chemie-Cluster over the last years. Thanks to them, we have come together with these motivated founders and their inspiring and sustainable technology and now we can look forward to an exciting and promising cooperation.”
Paloma Moya del Valle – Global Head of Cosmetics, Marketing & Technical Services of Eckart GmbH
Lignopure GmbH:
The start-up Lignopure GmbH converts raw lignin into functional, bio-based alternatives and intermediates for the cosmetics industry as well as new materials. In 2022, Lignopure established its first production facility in Hamburg to manufacture high-quality lignin-based products and materials for a variety of industrial applications.
ECKART GmbH:
ECKART GmbH, a company of Altana AG, is a manufacturer of effect pigments. Products from ECKART are used in the coatings and printing industries, the plastics and aerated concrete industries, as well as in cosmetics and additive manufacturing.
Pressrelease: New distribution partnership: Lignopure & ECKART
How can residual materials from production be used and recycled sensibly? This question is becoming increasingly important in times of raw material scarcity and resource efficiency. In terms of a sustainable and circular economy, residual materials must also be given a new role in the future.
Together with the New Materials Cluster (Cross-Cluster Project 2021), we were able to find a new sustainable processing method for the wood residues that arise during veneer production at Fritz Kohl Concepts. In the past, the wood residues were burned to generate energy and the ash was landfilled at a cost. A new and innovative solution was needed to avoid landfilling and save costs. We then initiated and moderated three networking meetings between Fritz Kohl Concepts with two start-ups and one SME and discussed possible further uses of the wood residues or the ash produced. Most interesting was the possibility of converting the wood residues into vegetable charcoal in a pyrolysis plant. This method not only allows the use of the resulting waste heat in production, but also the plant charcoal can subsequently be used as a soil improver or animal feed additive. In a follow-up meeting on site, the local production plant has already been visited.
The current public discussion about plastic waste requires fast rethinking within the industry. In order to establish a sustainable and circular plastics economy in the near future, all actors along the value chain need to collaborate more closely. Therefore, we brought together a manufacturer of additives and pigments with a plastics recycling company.
The production of plastics packaging usually involves additives and pigments in order to get the desired functional and optical properties. Besides printing inks and organic contaminants, these substances represent the greatest challenge in recycling when it comes to the production of a high-quality recyclate that can be reused in packaging production. On these grounds, the cooperation initiated by Chemie-Cluster Bayern intends to develop new additives and pigments which improve the recyclability of plastics and improve the quality of recyclates.
The combination of the broad knowledge of a well-established chemical company and a new solvent-based recycling technology by a plastic producing start-up enables the introduction of a new sustainable technology.
Another cooperation was initiated between a worldwide leader in thin film technology who is constantly looking for innovative solutions for functional surfaces that are used in a very wide range of products and a manufacturer of cross-sectional materials with a chemical-technical background. This company developed a nano silver formulation that gives surfaces electrical conductivity on the one hand and antimicrobial properties on the other.
In a first meeting organised by us, potential areas of application were identified in a brainstorming session. In the following months a sampling and joint product development followed. The results of this successful cooperation are strictly confidential.
Thanks to our international network the Chemie – Cluster Bayern was able to support a manufacturer of dispersing agents in search of a contract manufacturer for their strategic business expansion. Through a partner cluster in Aquitaine a potential cooperation partner was identified more than 1500 km from the German location in France.
Within a few days we organised an exchange about the German legal requirements and production possibilities in the target country. Finally, the two contracting parties decided on the conclusion of confidentiality agreements and exchanged first production samples in accordance with the requirements of the Bavarian client.
The cooperation was contractually regulated and implemented that same year and establishes an alternative market access in Western Europe for the Bavarian dispersion medium manufacturer.
