Origin Materials, which describes itself as a carbon-negative materials company has started up the first commercial-scale biobased chloromethyl furfural (CMF) plant at Sarnia, Ontario. CEO John Bissell said that he expects the  products “to be transformative for the chemical industry and how the world generally makes things”.

Shareholders approved the merger, first announced in February, between Origin Materials and special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Artius Acquisition on 24 June. As a result, Origin shares are now listed on the Nasdaq. Eight days before this, Apollo Global Management had agreed to invest up to $30 million in Artius in support of the combination and a further 3 million shares on closing of the transaction.