Room: Yangtze 1
Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Time: 09:00 - 10:00 CEST
Session code 6BO.3
Platforms for bio-based chemicals and polymers - Processes and applications
Accelerating Bio-Based Polyester Innovation: Platform Technologies And Machine Learning For Sustainable Chemical Building Blocks
Short Introductive summary
The chemical industry’s transition to climate neutrality requires renewable carbon solutions that combine sustainability with industrial performance. Within Biorizon (www.biorizon.eu), a shared research center initiated by research organizations TNO and VITO, TNO develops sugar-based routes to bio-based building blocks—both drop-in and novel—through a furfural based platform. These efforts have already led to industrial impact, exemplified by the spin-out Relement (www.relement.eu). A recent development is the application of machine learning to accelerate the design and selection of novel polyester building blocks for packaging and textiles. Our stage-gated development approach integrates synthesis, scale-up, and early application validation of bio-based building blocks. Multi-kg samples are produced early in the development for industrial testing. To further accelerate these developments, the NO-REGRET project applies machine learning to design polyesters with targeted properties and techno-economic feasibility, embedding recyclability and biodegradability from the outset.
Presenter
Paul KÖNST
TNO Biorizon, Energy & Materials Transition Dpt., THE NETHERLANDS
Presenter's biography
Dr. Paul Könst is Sr. Project Manager at the department of Sustainable Process & Energy Systems at TNO, the Netherlands organization for applied research. Together with his team at TNO and Shared Research Center Biorizon, he is driven to establish the commercial production of bio-based aromatics.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
M.C. Crockatt, TNO Biorizon, Rijswijk, THE NETHERLANDS
M.F. Neira D'Angelo, TNO Biorizon, Rijswijk, THE NETHERLANDS
Session reference: 6BO.3.4