Evonik in Brazilian alliance

Evonik has entered into a technological cooperation agreement with the AgTech Garage innovation centre in the Piracicaba Technology Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This came shortly after the company opened its new ‘Agro Hub’ at Americana in the same start AgTech Garage is described as an innovation hub that seeks to connect start-ups, producers, investors, academics, scientists and others in the development of sustainable agribusiness.

Evonik said that the new partnership will help to promote its capabilities through better connections to the regional agribusiness ecosystem. Evonik’s Interface & Performance business line offers a broad portfolio of defoamers, dispersants, emulsifiers, oil enhancers, wetting agents, super-spreaders, and penetrants for agricultural applications under the Break-Thru brand. It also makes biocompatible products for crop protection and seed treatments.

The new ‘Agro Hub’ is located at the company’s Applied Technology Centre in Americana. It combines new laboratories for conventional adjuvant formulations, seed treatments and biological formulations, plus two pilot plants and infrastructure to support customer training. Existing tech centres are at Marl, Germany, and Richmond, Virginia.

Separately, Evonik has held a groundbreaking ceremony at its new rhamnolipid facility at its biotech hub at Slovenská Lupca in Slovakia. This represents a “triple-digit million-euro investment”, the company said. The facility will make 100% bio-based, 100% biodegradable rhamnolipids from the fermentation of corn sugar for use in biosurfactants.