Relement is very happy that Amyke Veurink joined our team since June 1st. She brings over 25 years of technical coating application experience to our team. Get to know her through this interview. How has your career developed so far? I have worked for large and smaller companies, binder manufacturers and paint producers, like Akzo Nobel, DSM (now Covestro), Holland Colours and Van Wijhe Verf. I started as a researcher into coating properties and how to influence them by the adjustments of coating formulations. Also, I determined the properties of coating binders to steer the development in the right direction. Later I increased my interest in more fundamental studies and was project leader and team leader. At Relement I can work exactly in my field of knowledge, but on a new subject, a new green ingredient for binders. I like this a lot, and I am very lucky to have found such a professional and nice team of colleagues. What is your role at Relement? I am a Senior Technical Sales Support Manager. Relement is on a mission to change the world of aromatic chemicals and is a frontrunner in renewable chemistry by creating aromatics from non-food biobased raw materials. These biobased aromatics are the missing renewable element for many products such as coatings, adhesives, and other materials. My focus is to investigate and understand the technical aspects of resin production with our launching product bio MPA (3-methylphthalic anhydride) and to increase the knowledge about the technical advantages of using bio MPA in end applications of our customers. What do you want to achieve at Relement? We see significant improvements with bio MPA compared to the fossil equivalent PA in various applications and I want to know the underlying reason. For this I will partner in projects with Applied Universities and Research Institutes. With this information, I will develop bio MPA user guides for our customers to help them understand how to process and use our product bio MPA. At the moment my focus is on Relement's launching market alkyd coatings.

Relement collaborated with paint & coating company Koninklijke Van Wijhe Verf and resin manufacturer Worlée Chemie to unveil a groundbreaking new biobased alkyd paint called BIOmotion70. This coating achieves performance close to Van Wijhe’s best performing flagship product, LBH SDT Ultra Gloss Paint, while being significantly more environmentally friendly. The BIOmotion70 concept paint, containing Relement's bio MPA, is made of 70% renewable materials, making it unique in the market. It offers excellent durability and quality, whilst reducing 60% solvent content. Relement’s launching performance ingredient bio MPA is the key enabler for achieving this result. The concept paint is a durable high gloss coating for exterior timber and is intended for professional painters, real estate maintenance management as well as quality-conscious consumers. Key Features: Bio MPA - Enabling ingredient BIOmotion70 incorporates bio MPA, replacing traditional petrochemical components. Bio MPA enables a low viscous alkyd resin, which results in the durable BIOmotion70 paint with only 4% petrochemical solvent (down from 30%). Durability BIOmotion70 has been extensively tested and shows improved drying time at lower temperatures. It shows excellent outdoor durability, providing up to 10 years of protection. Sustainability BIOmotion70, once commercially on the market can achieve an unique 3-star "OK Biobased" TÜV rating (C14 measured), with potential for further improvement. For more information please contact our CCO Monique Wekking: monique.wekking@relement.eu

Relement team is happy to announce we have contracted Allessa GmbH in Germany, to initiate industrial-scale production of our launching product bio MPA (3-methylphthalic anhydride). The first ton-scale production campaign is planned for late 2025, targeting commercial market introduction of bio MPA. For the production of bio MPA standard chemical unit operations are needed. Allessa (part of Weylchem Group) has extensive expertise and capabilities in chemical contract manufacturing that will ensure efficient large-scale production of bio MPA while upholding Relement’ high standards for quality and sustainability. Relement’ outsourcing strategy reduces time-to-market significantly compared to building our own flagship plant. We are impressed with Allessa’s capabilities and professionalism, which are a good fit with Relement’ needs. Furthermore, the close distance between Allessa and our largest customers will further facilitate logistics and communication. We are excited about the next step for our company. We are building a world scale, sustainable valuable chemical ingredients business. Our unique bio aromatic ingredients improve sustainability and product performance for e.g. coatings, adhesives and composite materials. For more information please contact our CTO Stefano Iannacone: stefano.iannacone@relement.eu

Relement has contracted Alessa GmbH as Contract Manufacturing Organisation. Ton-scale production will start of our launching product bio MPA at ton-scale in 2025. It is possible to pre-order sample material now to start a labscreening or a pilot. Also, offtake agreements can be negotiated. Please indicate to us the volume bio MPA you would like to purchase in 2025 to boost the sustainability ánd performance of your products. Fill in the form below:

Relement is pleased to announce the signing of an offtake agreement with Worlée Chemie GmbH, a leading German chemical company. The agreement secures a fixed volume of bio MPA, a novel high performance biobased ingredient for use in coating resins . Bio MPA, our launching product, is scheduled for ton-scale production by late 2025 via contract manufacturing. This innovative material is designed to replace fossil-based components in alkyd resins, offering improved sustainability alongside performance benefits. Over the past four years, Relement and Worlée have worked closely to integrate bio MPA into coating resins, achieving results such as enhanced hardness, lower viscosity for reduced solvent use, faster drying times, and improved gloss. Worlée plans to introduce a range of alkyd resins featuring bio MPA to selected European coating formulators. The agreement also sets the stage for further development of resins aimed at a wider range of applications, underlining both companies’ commitment to sustainable innovation in the coatings industry. Joachim Freude, Managing director at Worlée Chemie, commented: “We are delighted to introduce new biobased alkyd resins on the market that will allow our customers to create more sustainable coatings without compromising on quality. Bio MPA is a key step toward replacing fossil-based ingredients in our formulations.” We are very excited to expand our partnership with Worlée, it is an important milestone. It brings us closer to the commercialization of bio MPA and demonstrates the value of strong partnerships in building a sustainable, biobased value chain. We are proud to work with Worlée to meet the growing demand for greener and more efficient products. For more information please contact our CCO Monique wekking: monique.wekking@relement.eu 

Relement has successfully integrated bio MPA (biobased 3-methylphthalic anhydride) in a (polyester, polyether) polyol for use in polyurethane (PUR) and polyisocyanurate (PIR) rigid foams. Such foams are often used as insulation material in buildings.  Since there is more attention for sustainable building materials and energy conservation measures, increasing the biobased content of such materials is of interest. Petrochemical phthalic anhydride is often used as an ingredient in aromatic, rigid PUR and PIR foam. Relement’s launching product bio MPA can be used as a biobased substitute and performance enhancer. Due to steric hindrance of the additional methyl group in bio MPA compared to phthalic anhydride, it is expected that bio MPA based insulation foams will be more rigid, improving the compressive and tensile properties and increasing the glass transition temperature. In collaboration with Avans Applied University in the Netherlands, Relement successfully synthesized basic polyester polyols with bio MPA.

Relement is honored and grateful to be among the winners of the Tech Tour Bio-Based Industries 2024 Award. The Tech Tour event highlighted >30 selected companies at the forefront of bio-based innovation, chosen through a rigorous selection process led by a panel of active investors. Our CEO Roger Blokland was on site to present our activities. He pitched about transforming sustainable biomass residues into high-performance bio-aromatics for coatings, adhesives, and materials, offering a renewable alternative to fossil-based ingredients while also enhancing product performance. The expert jury acknowledged Relement as one of the companies that is setting new benchmarks in sustainability, circular materials, and green technology. The Tech Tour Bio-based Industries 2024 event was co-organized by Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) and co-hosted by Circular Valley and City of Wuppertal, as well as supported by partners like Bayer, DWNRW, ZAZ Ventures, and Shaping Bio. Of course, we would also like to congratulate the other winners: Arda Biomaterials, Blue Ocean Closures, Mevaldi, Origin by Ocean, Quorium and SenseUP Biotechnology.

Relement has completed its first collaboration project with Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Eindhoven (The Netherlands). During a 18 months period, a team of teachers and 21 students worked on alkyd coating research based on Relement’ launching product bio MPA. To accelerate the research, coating experts Joost van Dijk (Puroc) and Henk van den Haak (Resinconsult) advised the students with experimental setup and formulation work. A wealth of knowledge has been created supporting the commercial use of bio MPA in performance alkyd coatings. The Relement team enjoyed the project and is convinced about the effectiveness of collaborative applied research. We are thankful with at least 21 new ambassadors for sustainable chemistry! This project is partially funded with subsidy from KIEM GoChem, a joint subsidy program from the Dutch Regieorgaan SIA and ChemistryNL. 

Relement has contracted R&D partners to further optimize the production process for our launching product bio MPA (3-methylphthalic anhydride), enabling us to commence industrial-scale manufacturing soon. The efforts resulted in: a leaner and more robust process; increased bio MPA product recovery; reduced formation of byproducts such as humins; reduced the use of organic solvents; reduced energy requirement. After the summer, we will select a Contract Manufacturing Organisation to begin the production of our launching product bio MPA. Join us on our mission towards a greener chemical future. Get in touch if you would like to purchase bio MPA for your coating, adhesive or composite resin. For more information please contact our CTO Stefano Iannacone: Stefano.iannacone@relement.eu