Royal DSM N.V. and Novomer Inc., based in Waltham, MA have signed an agreement to jointly develop a revolutionary coating resin using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a raw material.
    
This development agreement follows a cooperation agreement and an investment by DSM Venturing in Novomer in 2007. The joint development project will benefit from the broad variety of DSM’s technologies and market access, in combination with the CO2 polymerization technology of Novomer.
    
The chemistry and process technology for producing polymers from CO2 and propylene oxide (PO) will be developed by Novomer, while DSM will convert the polymers into resins and formulate them for target applications such as coatings, adhesives and graphic arts. Polycarbonate resins are widely known because of their superior performance and resistances and could find use in many types of coatings. Commercial use of conventional types has been limited due to their cost position and some weaknesses that are inherent in these products. The new CO2-based aliphatic polycarbonates to be developed by DSM and Novomer could potentially resolve these weaknesses, according to the company.