Renewable resources such as woody biomass (trees), agricultural waste, or marine materials (algae) can replace climate-changing petroleum as a raw material. There is a wide variety of biobased products and materials being made today, including biobased chemicals, advanced biofuels, bioplastics, and other advanced materials—such as nanocellulose, a biobased building block chemical made from woody biomass.

Making products and advanced materials from plants, not petroleum, is safer for people and the planet. That's why there's growing consumer demand across the globe. At the end of their useful life, many biobased products can be recycled for reuse or composted back into soil nutriments.

We aim to expand biobased product manufacturing in Maine through applied research, technical assistance, and information sharing that supports new product development, process engineering, and market assessment.