Living Ink announced this week that it secured $3.5 million to scale its flagship product, Algae Black. The patented black pigment is made from algae biomass waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
- A biomaterials company, Living Ink has developed inks based on algae, a sustainable technology, to replace petroleum-derived products. With Algae Ink, Living Ink is commercializing sustainable black algae-based pigments that have a negative carbon footprint. More on this here.
- Conventional methods are used for large-scale cultivation of the algae . Following its purification using patented technology, the crude pigment is ground and made into a dispersion. It is then used to create a range of goods, including inks.
- According to studies, Living Ink used an extracted byproduct of spirulina algae as the base material to create the bio-based carbon black ink. Irvine, California-based Earthrise Nutritionals, is the supplier of this feedstock.
Other companies producing bio-inks are:
- Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) – ADM offers a range of bio-based solvents and resins for inks and coatings.
- Sun Chemical Corporation – Sun Chemical is one of the world’s largest producers of printing inks and pigments. It offers a range of bio-based products, such as SunSpectrum BioInks and SunBar Barrier Coatings.
- Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA – It provides tailor-made ink solutions, including bio-based inks for packaging and labels, such as UniBio and UniNatura.
- Cargill Incorporated -It offers bio-based polyols and polyurethanes for inks and coatings.
By 2026, it’s anticipated that the market for bio-based inks and coatings would be worth $8.57 billion. It is high time that the businesses use this opportunity to go green and go big. More on market of bio inks here.
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