{"id":9702,"date":"2023-08-15T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=9702"},"modified":"2024-10-21T20:27:59","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T10:27:59","slug":"leo-dicaprio-backs-2-45m-biomass-venture-bioblack-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/leo-dicaprio-backs-2-45m-biomass-venture-bioblack-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Leo DiCaprio Backs $2.45M Biomass Venture: BioBlack TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hollywood A-Lister\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/luxurylaunches.com\/tag\/Leonardo-Dicaprio\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a>\u00a0is among investors in a start-up using <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fsc..org\">FSC-certified woody biomass<\/a> to produce a carbon-negative alternative to petroleum-based carbon black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natural dye specialist Jane Palmer founded the Biochemical company Natural Coating with its flagship product, BioBlack TX, already counting Kering and Levi&#8217;s as customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fashion label Vollek is also a customer, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wood-you-believe-it-the-coolest-new-eco-trend-is-a-t-shirt-made-of-wood\/\">with Wood Central covering the release of a new t-shirt range in February.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carbon Black is a widely used dye for black colouring in textile products, which a carbon-negative alternative can now replace.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"o7MXwcc2zUQ\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Continental Carbon - Carbon Black Manufacturing process\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o7MXwcc2zUQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@continentalcarbon1984\">@continentalcarbon1984.<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hazardous synthetic dyes heavily pollute the water systems outside of garment production facilities worldwide,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working in the pigment and dyes industry for over 20 years, Ms Palmer, founder and CEO, has witnessed its negative impact on our environment and health.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This inspired me to find a way to develop something better, something safe enough to be buried in my vegetable garden,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;At Nature Coatings, our vision is to create a future where the chemical industry operates in harmony with nature, and this new investment will take us closer to our goal.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ms Palmer, \u201cMillions of tons of wood waste are created yearly in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The black pigment is lightfast, humidity- and sweat-resistant and does not contain petroleum or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), a carcinogen in traditional carbon black pigments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pigment can be used in any other pigment for applications such as screen printing, rotary printing, digital inkjet printing, solution dye, airbrush and coatings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h.jpg 800w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-696x522.jpg 696w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-560x420.jpg 560w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/NatureCoatings_Pigment_600h-265x198.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Massive scale is required to ensure the product is price competitive.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kingpinsshow.com\/search-for-pigment-without-petroleum-pah-leads-to-bio-alternative-made-from-wood-waste\/\">In developing the new pigment<\/a>, Ms Palmer said she and her team recognized that the final product had to be competitively priced with traditional petroleum-based pigments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe have to come out of the gate at a massive scale to get it to a competitive price,\u201d she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was also crucial that the pigment could be used with existing equipment, Ms Palmer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe designed it for easy adoption,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s as easy as taking our pigment off the shelf. We set it up to be a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the weekend, the actor shared the news with fans on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LeoDiCaprio\/status\/1689654133509492736\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I\u2019m excited to join Nature Coatings as an investor, a company that offers a bio-based, long-term solution that can be translated across industries, contributing to the mission for a cleaner, more sustainable environment. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NatureCoatingsPartner?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NatureCoatingsPartner<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LeoDiCaprio\/status\/1689654133509492736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr DiCaprio is part of a USD 2.45 million funding round led by investments from Regeneration.VC ClimateTech Fund and The 22 Fund.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dan Fishman, General Partner at Regeneration.VC expressed his enthusiasm for the investment, stating that the fund has been &#8220;searching high and low for a drop-in replacement to petroleum-based carbon black that is 100% bio-based and at price parity.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How It Works<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Nature Coatings turns waste materials into safe and renewable solutions so the chemical industry operates in sync with nature and its needs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturecoatingsinc.com\/bioblack-tx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BioBlack TX<\/a>\u00a0is a proprietary black pigment derived from wood waste, making it free of fossil fuels, renewable and safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The wood waste is sourced from eucalyptus and beech wood from FSC-certified forests in Central Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/rural\/2022-01-13\/biochar-beneficial-but-not-only-answer-to-climate-problems\/100741672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biochar technology<\/a>, it uses waste from the forests as a feedstock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"p0YNFn9Dloc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Biochar: The Oldest New Thing You&#039;ve Never Heard Of | Wae Nelson | TEDxOrlando\" width=\"696\" height=\"522\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/p0YNFn9Dloc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TEDx\">@TedX.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The wood is then turned into a pulp and spun into a soft, breathable fibre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Tracy Gray from The 22 Fund, the investment will lead to clean and quality jobs in low and moderate-income communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We are excited to utilise our network and expertise to support Jane Palmer and be a part of the next growth phase of Nature Coatings.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nature Coatings is now looking to sell its technology to more brands, develop the production facility in Georgia and expand its labour force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hollywood A-Lister\u00a0Leonardo DiCaprio\u00a0is among investors in a start-up using FSC-certified woody biomass to produce a carbon-negative alternative to petroleum-based carbon black. Natural dye specialist Jane Palmer founded the Biochemical company Natural Coating with its flagship product, BioBlack TX, already counting Kering and Levi&#8217;s as customers. Fashion label Vollek is also a customer, with Wood Central [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9706,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-9702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sustainability"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9707,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9702\/revisions\/9707"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9702"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}