Braskem (São Paulo, Brazil; www.braskem.com.br) announced that it has started a new operation in Boston, Mass. focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. The activities will include biotechnology and material science R&D, business and market development as well as technology scouting for key strategic partnerships.
Gustavo Sergi, Braskem Renewable Chemicals Business Director, stated, “Renewable chemistry will lead the next wave of development in chemicals and polymers. Our announcement today reinforces Braskem’s position at the forefront of this movement. As we look forward, by developing and leading the next wave of renewable chemicals and polymers, we are bringing our customers new and innovative choices.”
“The operation in Boston will complement the metabolic engineering capabilities that we have in our Renewable Chemistry Research Center in Campinas (Brazil) as well as our material science competencies present in our R&D centers in Triunfo (Brazil) and Pittsburgh (USA). In addition, this location positions Braskem in a strategic ecosystem that will enable us to leverage key partnerships for research and market development,” explains Mateus Schreiner Garcez Lopes, Braskem Head of Innovation in Renewable Technologies.
To lead the R&D initiatives in Boston the company has appointed Dr. Daniel P. MacEachran as new Head of Metabolic Engineering. Dr. MacEachran joins Braskem from Greenlight Biosciences, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the sustainable production of chemicals, having most recently served as Director of Applications Research & Development. He also served as a Visiting Scientist and Post-Doctoral Researcher to the Department of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.