Today international chemical group Solvay is announcing an agreement to significantly increase the usage of renewable raw materials (or biobased chemicals) within AkzoNobel formulations of paints and coatings.

The agreement concerns widely used oxygenated solvents, specifically bio-Butanol and bio-Acetone and their derivatives, and the Solvay Coatis Augeo family of solvents. Solvent volumes of up to 10 kiloton per year are targeted by 2017.

The collaborative project is outlined to take over two years, and both companies will mobilize specific resources from Q2 onwards. The first formulations are being tested in Brazil and will be extended globally.