Latest: A new corn-based polymer precursor
Through farmers’ investment in the corn check-off, Minnesota Corn is supporting an effort by a University of Minnesota-based start-up to produce 110 pounds of a monomer called Nuvone from corn-based sugars. The start-up, Valerian Materials, will sell the material to a European company that will use it to make a polymer called methyl-1,5-pentanediol (MPD), which is used in adhesives, sealants, and other polyurethane products.
Valerian Materials makes Nuvone by using proprietary microorganisms to ferment corn-based sugars into an intermediate compound called mevalonate. In 2022, the company received funding from the organization BioMADE to optimize the Nuvone production process and study its potential use in polymers.
Valerian Materials developed out of research at the University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Polymers, which was founded in 2009 and focuses on renewable polymers and plastics. Minnesota Corn has supported a variety of research projects at the center in recent years, including efforts to make existing corn-based plastics more durable.
As part of its business strategy, Valerian Materials plans on requiring goods that contain Nuvone-based polymers to brand Nuvone as part of their products. It plans on working with toll manufacturers to produce the monomer, Nuvone.
Minnesota Corn supports Valerian Materials as part of our mission of creating new markets for corn farmers while increasing sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Minnesota Corn also invests corn check-off funds in projects at the Center for Sustainable Polymers that aim to develop future generations of corn-based plastics. To learn more about how Minnesota Corn is working to increase opportunities for corn farmers through new-uses projects, visit mncorn.org/utilization.
Check out a recent video interview with Valerian’s CEO Mike Arbeiter, who sat down with Linder Farm Network to discuss the project.
