Novonesis.

This will be the new name for the major merger of Novozymes and Chr. Hansen.

And the name Novonesis is no coincidence, as it’s rooted in the Greek word genesis, meaning beginning. And put together with novo, which means new, it signifies a new beginning.

The companies announced this on Wednesday morning - the day after the EU Commission gave the green light for the merger of the two companies.

”Novonesis reflects where we came from, what we can achieve, and what we will become together,” says Ester Baiget, who is CEO of Novozymes and will also be chief exec of Novonesis when the merger is completed in the first quarter of 2024.

”In Novonesis, we will unite the brightest minds and the best science and technology in the field to help customers and businesses prosper while enabling to solve some of the greatest challenges we all face. We are here to start an era of biosolutions. That is why we have chosen to call our new company Novonesis,” she adds.

A year ago, Novozymes bought Chr. Hansen. Since then, work has been underway to get the merger approved around the globe - and a new name was also needed.

”We developed the name Novonesis in close collaboration and dialogue between Novozymes and Chr. Hansen. It has been crucial to find a name that can be a home to all our 10,000 employees, but even more importantly the name should represent the future potential of biosolutions,” says Cees de Jong, chairman of Novozymes.

That Novo remains a part of the company story is because the Novo name is globally associated with science, a Nordic heritage and a major contributor to society.

And these are all assets and values shared by the future combined company, Novozymes says.