Business Roundup

Solvay will start producing polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) at its site in Augusta, Ga., next year to meet growing demand from the aerospace industry. The firm already makes polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and other high-end polymers at the facility.

Clariant has formed a joint venture with Tiangang Auxiliary to make ultraviolet light stabilizers in China’s Hebei province. A multi-million-dollar facility, to come on-line in 2019, will meet demand for the stabilizers from China’s textile and auto industries.

Bayer has sold 19 million shares in Covestro, its former materials and plastics business, for $1.4 billion. The sell-off reduces Bayer’s stake in Covestro by 9.4% to 31.5%.

MycoTechnology, a food technology start-up based in Aurora, Colo., has raised $35 million from undisclosed investors in a second round of funding. The company’s organic, powdered mushroom mycelium product is used to block bitter flavors of foods, beverages, and natural noncaloric sweeteners.

Oxis Energy, a British lithium-sulfur battery materials developer, will work with NASA to build battery cells for aircraft designed for terrestrial and planetary missions. Both organizations will work together to reduce battery weight.

Gridtential, a Bay Area battery start-up, has raised $11 million from 1955 Capital and U.S. and Chinese battery manufacturers in its second round of funding. The firm’s automotive and stationary-energy-storage batteries are similar to lead acid types but use plated silicon wafers in place of lead grids.

Boehringer Ingelheim will work with the Danish biotech firm Gubra to develop peptide compounds that treat obesity. Gubra could reap as much as $300 million in up-front and milestone payments.

Bayer and Vanderbilt University Medical Center have formed a five-year collaboration to develop therapies for kidney diseases. Their goal is to discover two investigational new drugs for people with end-stage renal failure.