Please join us in welcoming to the Biobased Maine board of directors Colleen Walker, Director of the Process Development Center at the University of Maine, Tom Brennan, Senior Natural Resource Manager at Nestlé Waters North American Inc., and Jay Brandeis, Partner at Abnaki Group and Consultant for Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. Colleen Walker comes to Biobased Maine with over 25 years experience in chemical engineering and pulp and paper technologies. As the Director of the Process Development Center (PDC) at the University of Maine, Colleen works directly with businesses, providing ..read more

Please join us on Friday, November 13, 2020, on Zoom, for “The Future Belongs to Maine: Opportunities in the Bioeconomy”—our not-to-be-missed investor webinar on Maine’s growing bioeconomy. WHEN: Friday, November 13, 2020, 9:00am – 11:00am EST RSVP: Please register for tickets here. This two hour webinar conference will feature invigorating panel discussions, a fascinating keynote, and an overview of innovative technologies to produce climate-friendly products from Maine’s renewable biomass, creating high-paying green jobs and establishing Maine as a leader in the emerging ..read more

In these frightening and stressful times, we’re glad to be able to share a bit of good news with you. On Wednesday, March 18, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1698: An Act to Create Jobs and Slow Climate Change by Promoting the Production of Natural Resources Bioproducts into law. This legislation, which offers an 8 cents per pound tax credit for the production of renewable chemicals and reinstates a latent biofuels tax credit at 5 cents per gallon, will help Maine compete for a market share in the growing global bioeconomy. Jamie Chittum, Board President at Biobased Maine and Director of Busin ..read more

Maine International Trade Center’s Trade Day 2020, May 14 – 15, in Bangor, Maine, is seeking Maine companies, startups, and industries to take part in its New Product Global Showcase and Innovation Pavilion. This annual event—with over 300 attendees including Maine business professionals, investors, government officials, R&D groups, representatives from foreign trade and consular offices, and media—provides excellent exposure for entrepreneurial, innovative companies. The New Product Global Showcase is open to all Maine companies and industries. It aims to help businesses launch ..read more

At the 2020 Katahdin Summit in Millinocket, Maine, from left to right: Matthew Polstein, CEO of New England Outdoor Center, Lee Khan, founder and Renewable Energy Permitting Strategist for Permitting Partners, and Marina Bowie, Executive Director of Biobased Maine. Biobased Maine has been busy throughout the winter months promoting Maine’s bioeconomy to investors close to home and nationwide, and we plan to ramp up our promotion to a national and international audience as winter turns to spring. In December, Biobased Maine took part in the Rural Maine Opportunity Zones Convening in Bangor. Hos ..read more

Please join us on Friday, November 20, 2020, in Portland, Maine, for “The Future Belongs to Maine: Opportunities in the Bioeconomy”—our not-to-be-missed investor summit on Maine’s growing bioeconomy. WHEN: Friday, November 20, 2020, 8:30am – 3:30pm WHERE: University of New England, Innovation Hall 772 Stevens Avenue Portland, ME 04103 RSVP: Please register for tickets here. This full-day conference will feature invigorating panel discussions, exhibits, several fascinating keynotes, and an overview of innovative technologies to produce climate-friendly products from Ma ..read more

From left: Marina Bowie, Biobased Maine; George Lindbom, Maine International Trade Center; Brianna Bowman, Maine Development Foundation and FOR/Maine Program Director; Robert O’Brien, Maine Development Foundation; Craig Kerschner, ND Paper; and Dr. John Kettle, Natural Resources Institute of Finland (LUKE) (Photo: Maine International Trade Center) The past few months have been an exciting time for Maine’s forest products industry. On August 13, ND Paper hosted the grand reopening of the Old Town Mill. “We’ve been fortunate to have many forest industry stakeholders and fellow businesses in Mai ..read more

Jim Lane, editor and publisher of Biofuels Digest, gives the keynote address to ABLC NEXT 2019 attendees. (Photo: Biobased Maine) Biobased Maine has just returned from San Francisco, where we joined other Maine stakeholders to promote Maine’s assets and emerging bioeconomy for investment at the annual Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference on Next-Gen Technologies and Markets (ABLC NEXT). ABLC NEXT is the premier national industry conference, consisting of seven conferences in one: The Advanced Biofuels Summit, The Renewable Chemicals & Biomaterials Summit, The Advanced Agriculture Summ ..read more

Senator Angus King (I-Maine) gave the keynote at LandCAN’s event “May the Forests be With You” on November 8 in Falmouth, Maine. (Photo: Sen. King/Twitter) Biobased Maine executive director Marina Bowie joined Sappi North America’s Donna Cassese and Tom Doak of Maine Woodland Owners on November 8 in Falmouth, Maine, for a FOR/Maine panel discussion on the current opportunities and challenges for Maine’s forest products industry, as part of the Land Conservation Assistance Network’s (LandCAN) event “May the Forests be With You.” At the event, LandCAN put their own spin on the famous line from S ..read more

While Maine and Finland are thousands of miles apart, our relative geographic locations and like climate mean that we can both boast enormous forest cover—Finland is about 80% forest, and Maine is 90% forest—and have therefore developed biomass-based industries in parallel. Our economic situations have also paralleled each other: As Finland began experiencing a decline in its pulp and paper industry as a result of technology developments and an increasingly paperless society, so did Maine. Today, Finland’s forest products industry is thriving and expanding into new markets by investing in inn ..read more