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The know-how of two Czech entities – the NAFIGATE company and the Brno University of Technology - is the basis for a project of a consortium of 17 European companies and institutions that will develop ecological packaging for the future for food or cosmetics. The members of the consortium are also the multinational company Unilever and other excellent workplaces of the European Union. NAFIGATE, together with its partners, has succeeded in the European Commission's tender under the Horizon 2020 research program and will implement a new generation of sustainable packaging project called BioSupPack.

NAFIGATE Corporation has long been involved in the concept of circular economics - it processes biological waste, which it transforms into biopolymers and then bioplastics. These can be used in a variety of ways - including the production of organic packaging for food, beverages, cosmetics or household cleaners. "As part of the BioSupPack project, we will process and test new types of waste from food production and we are also looking for new forms of polymer that are suitable for processing into plastics," Lenka Mynářová, the co-owner of NAFIGATE Corporation, said. Radek Přikryl and Veronika Melčová from the Faculty of Chemistry at BUT are involved in the project from the Brno University of Technology.

The European Commission allocated 8.8 million euros for the whole project, the Czech participants of the consortium - NAFIGATE Corporation and BUT - received a total of 1.4 million euros. The consortium thus becomes the only alliance of companies and institutions to deal with the project of the most modern packaging that does not burden the environment, with the support of the commission. NAFIGATE Corporation is a leading Czech development company, focusing on biotechnology and nanotechnology. Its flagship in the first area is Hydal biotechnology, which uses various oil wastes to produce bioplastics. This technology was created in the past at the Faculty of Chemistry, BUT, specifically in the laboratories of the Centre for Materials Research in the team of Professor Ivana Márová.

The European Union has long been working to solve problems with synthetic plastics, but the advent of bioplastics is hampered by a number of problems. Existing recycling systems are built to process conventional plastics, and not all bioplastics are truly environmentally friendly. "The European Commission's task was to develop sustainable packaging that would not have a negative impact on the environment. We managed to prove that the solution can be our approach to the circular economy and how we process food waste," Lenka Mynářová said. As part of the BioSupPack project, the consortium will also examine how to efficiently recycle next-generation bioplastics and how to digitize material flows.

NAFIGATE now has a lot of work to do in an excellent European team - including with such a renowned partner as Unilever. The aim is to develop reliable and strong packaging that will be at least as good as traditional ones, but at the same time as environmentally friendly as possible. Modern packaging projects also represent a significant economic and business opportunity. The packaging is the largest application segment in the plastics industry, accounting for 40 per cent of the industry's total consumption in 2019, according to Frost&Sullivan analysts. According to international evaluations in the field of biotechnology, NAFIGATE has significant growth and innovation potential and aims to constantly expand its product portfolio.

Source: NAFIGATE Corporation