Role in BIOPACKMAN:
Project Coordinator. Develops biodegradable materials and adhesives, and oversees processing, recycling and overall project integration.
Role in BIOPACKMAN:
BEWH is the Belgium branch of the Italian company Tinexta Innovation Hub, a privately held consultancy services company that provides full-spectrum consulting in business finance. BEWH has extensive experience in project management, communication, dissemination, and exploitation of project results, as well as environmental, economic, and social impact assessment. BEWH offers a methodological and strategic approach for the successful implementation of EU-funded research and innovation projects.
Role in BIOPACKMAN:
BEWH leads the project management tasks and coordinate the dissemination, communication, and exploitation of project results. The company will also lead the networking and clustering activities and the outreach and training activities.
Bio-Mi is R&D R&D-oriented SME from Croatia, developer and manufacturer of biobased, biodegradable and compostable thermoplastic materials and films used for primary and secondary packaging and the agro sector. In addition, Bio-Mi provides services in testing, developing and upscaling of different formulas of biomaterials and is active in the Horizon programme in numerous projects dedicated to innovations in the bioindustry.
ROLE IN BIOPACKMAN
Within the BioPackMan project, BIO-MI is present in several work packages. In WP3 its main role is to evaluate the processability of developed formulations using blow and cast extrusion at a lower scale. In WP4, BIO-MI will scale up the production of compounds for flexible and rigid packaging. Furthermore, BIO-MI is also in charge of the scaling up of blow and cast film extrusion of flexible packaging for home & personal care.
The Logoplaste Innovation Lab (ILAB), a R&D dedicated business unit of Logoplaste, drives cutting-edge packaging solutions by combining advanced design, sustainable materials, and circular economy principles—reinforcing Logoplaste’s leadership in “hole-in-the-wall” manufacturing and just-in-time delivery of innovative plastic packaging.
Role in BIOPAKMAN:
Within BIOPACKMAN, they will lead WP5 and develop rigid packaging solutions to incorporate the novel BDPMs.
ITENE (Instituto Tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logística) is a Spanish non-profit R&D-based technological centre founded in 1994 and based in Paterna, Valencia. With a multidisciplinary team of over 180 professionals, including around 120 dedicated to R&D and innovation, ITENE generates scientific and technological knowledge and transfers it to industry through research and development, consultancy, testing, and training services. The centre offers a holistic and sustainable approach to the entire supply chain, covering packaging, logistics, transport, mobility, and end-of-life/recycling solutions, with a focus on improving the sustainability, safety, and efficiency of supply chains through innovative solutions and advanced technologies. ITENE collaborates with various industries to develop tailored solutions that enhance packaging performance, reduce environmental impact, and optimize logistics operations. The centre is located in a 7,000 m² building, half of which is dedicated to laboratories and pilot plants equipped with the latest technology for research and testing activities. Between 2020 and 2023, ITENE served more than 1,900 clients.
ROLE IN BIOPACKMAN:
In the BioPackMan project, ITENE will lead WP6 on Safety, Environmental & Economic Sustainability Assessment of the developed materials and products. ITENE will define Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles and implement an SSbD framework applied to biodegradable packaging materials, providing guidance on approaches and techniques along their value chain, including circularity, functionality, and the reduction or mitigation of potential adverse effects to human health or the environment from the earliest stages. ITENE will develop optimized bio-based lignocellulosic additives to enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of biodegradable LDPMs for packaging applications, ensuring additive sustainability and recyclability while considering environmental impact. ITENE will also ensure human health safety through early-stage toxicity and exposure assessments, defining safety criteria for the developed materials. The biodegradability of these materials will be validated through pathway analysis and multi-tier testing under soil/landfill, freshwater/marine conditions, and industrial composting.
Novamont is a certified B Corporation and Benefit Corporation, as well as one of a global leader in biodegradable and compostable bioplastics and the development of bioproducts and biochemicals derived wholly or partially from renewable, plant-based sources.
Novamont is now part of Versalis (Eni) and operates as a group comprising five production sites (four in Italy and one in Estonia),four research centres and three technology hubs covering a wide range of expertise, from laboratory-scale experimentation to advanced pilot plants. We also have commercial offices in Germany, France, Spain and the United States, as well as a distribution network spanning more than 40 countries. Over the years, Novamont has industrialised thirteen proprietary technologies, four of which are unique, creating bioplastics and bioproducts through a multidisciplinary approach combining bioplastics, biotechnology, agronomy, organic chemistry and product ecology.
ROLE IN BIOPACKMAN
As part of the project, Novamont will be responsible for synthesizing and characterizing the targeted copolymers, as well as collaborating on the on the realization and compatibilization of biodegradable polymer blends developed within the project. The final applications of Novamont’s biopolyesters and related formulations will include flexible food-contact packaging, designed using biodegradable and recyclable biopolyesters and PHAs.
Futerro is a pioneer and world leader in the development and production of lactic acid, lactide and Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), a bio-based, recyclable and industrially compostable plastic, capable of replacing fossil-based plastics in everyday life. With more than 30 years of experience in the bioplastics industry, Futerro is today the only company with complete mastery over the entire PLA life cycle, from the renewable natural raw materials to the pure PLA pellets production, and the recycling of PLA-based materials. Futerro plans to set up a new biorefinery in France by 2028, representing an estimated investment of €500 million and projected to create 250 direct and up to 900 indirect full-time jobs.
ROLE IN BIOPACKMAN
Futerro’s role in the project will be to develop new PLA-based grades with modulated properties, to demonstrate the recyclability of PLA-based packaging through our patented Loopla chemical recycling technology and to support our partners with our extensive expertise in bioplastics and PLA production.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) leads the development of in-silico models for predicting the biodegradation and ecotoxicity of biodegradable polymeric materials (BDPMs). It develops Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) and Quantitative Structure-Biodegradation Relationship (QSBR) models. Moreover, AUTH actively contributes to the implementation of the Safety and Sustainability by Design (SSbD) framework for the development of BDPM materials.
ROLE IN BIOPACKMAN
The Environmental Engineering Laboratory (EnvE-Lab) at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) is an international reference center for the assessment of exposure to environmental factors, as well as participates in and coordinates several EU projects. Its aim is to develop sustainable processes and products by linking environmental impacts to human health outcomes. Key areas of expertise include exposure and risk assessment, bioinformatics and in-silico modeling, omics-based toxicology, process safety, exposome science, and Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) chemicals, materials, and sciences.