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Please find the Project Newsletter. You can view it or download it in order to read our latest news. Do not hesitate to subscribe in order to be updated with the next issues.

Please find the Project Newsletter. You can view it or download it in order to read our latest news. Do not hesitate to subscribe in order to be updated with the next issues.

The bioplastics magazine recently published a feature on the final BIOnTOp conference in its June edition with an article on " Advancing innovation with novel sustainable materials" with a piece on the lessons learned from 12 EU-funded projects presenting outstanding results after the 2023 Interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany. The piece highlighted how the commitment of these projects to assess the environmental impacts of the developed processes or products has been demonstrated by using LCA methodologies based on available standards, certifications and validated approaches. And on how in some of these projects, like in BIOnTop, the teams also included pre- and co-normative research necessary for developing the needed product quality standards. The piece also praised that these projects have also included an economic viability performance check (e.g. value chain and market analysis) of the developed products and processes, along with an analysis of social impacts where applicable. The feature was written by bioplastics magazine after an interview with the BIOnTop partner European Bioplastics, with inputs from the other projects participating in the conference.

Read the full feature on pages 20-21 of the magazine

We are pleased to announce that all the recordings of our final conference are now online! Check them out on this Youtube playlist, you have around 6 hours of recordings to watch and digest, split in three videos:  https://lnkd.in/ebhCVh33

"Innovations on Sustainable Materials for Textiles, Coatings, Films and other Wide Use Applications" Conference, organised by BIOnTop Partners European Bioplastics, AIMPLAS, ENCO in Düsseldorf, Maritim Hotel, Thu.11 May 2023, 8.30 am-3.30 pm and online With contributions from: BIOnTop Project, Usable Packaging, CelluWiz, MANDALA, PRESERVE, SEALIVE, GLAUKOS, Polybioskin, REPuropose, RECOVER, ECOFUNCO and NENU2Phar. Book of abstracts: https://zenodo.org/record/7922099 Proceedings and presentations: https://zenodo.org/communities/biontop/

We managed to get some good visibility for our results at the AIMPLAS · Technological Institute of Plastics #Biopolymersmeeting2023 last week with the BIOnTop workshop. Well done, team! ????

"AIMPLAS · Technological Institute of Plastics: ¡Emocionados de anunciar que el VIII Seminario Internacional de Biopolímeros y Composites Sostenibles ha sido todo un éxito! En la segunda jornada de #BiopolymersMeeting2023 se han tratado el ámbito de los #biopolímeros en ambientes abiertos, y se han mostrado algunos casos de éxito recientes. Además, los asistentes han tenido la oportunidad de realizar una visita a nuestras instalaciones o de asistir a dos #workshop de los proyectos #ELIOT y BIOnTop Project. Reiteramos el agradecimiento a asistentes, ponentes, patrocinadores, colaboradores, media partners y todos los que nos habéis ayudado a hacerlo posible. Esperamos que hayáis disfrutado durante estos dos días."

This is the first session of 2. The second session is taking place on 14 March 2023 (you can still register here). 

What is the challenge? How to ensure compliance to the EU directives on safety and health at work? What are the specific legal requirements you need to be aware of? What is the broader legal and regulatory framework? How can you focus on the risk management and risk assessment? How can you ensure the compliance to the EU directives related to health and safety at work (Ref: https://osha.europa.eu/en/safety-and-... How can you ensure compliance to health and safety requirements for novel products, in particular for food contact packaging products?

• Total training time for this session: 2 hours.
• Dates: Tuesday 7 March 2023 from 9-11 am.
• Target audience: BIOnTop consortium but also other representatives of projects funded by BBI/CBE JU.
• Language: English.
• Trainer: Dr. Francesca Braca (ARCHA).

Contents:

• ARCHA task and activities
• H&S regulations
• Risk assessment

Training materials:

• The presentation is accessible in open access on Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/record/7705154
• The video of the training is published on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UnrbvRwpsJc

#biontop workshop in six short modules. This workshop was held on 14 December 2022, online and in-person in Pisa (Italy). Organisation: INSTM - Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali

Modules

Module 1: Introduction, Andrea Lazzeri, INSTM & UNIPI, Italy

Module 2: Overview of BIONTOP project, Rafael Alonso, AIMPLAS, Spain

Module 3: Biobased, biodegradable and recyclable materials for films and trays, Maria-Beatrice Coltelli, INSTM & UNIPI, Italy

Module 4: Biobased materials for textile packaging and its coating, Willem Uyttendaele, Centexbel, Belgium

Module 5: Surface modification of films, Corina Reichert, Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, Germany

Module 6: Bioplastics from research to policy: Where is European policy making heading for? Chiara Bearzotti, European Bioplastics Association

All video recordings are available on the YouTube Playlist of this workshop.The training slides are all available in Zenodo.

Get some insights into the latest research developments and on the upscaling of novel biobased, recyclable packaging materials. The BIOnTop developed demonstrators find potential applications in tea bags, trays, films, bags, food wraps, for fruits and vegetables, dairy products but also for personal care products.

When: 10 May 2023 Time: from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Where: Messe Düsseldorf, Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, 40474 Düsseldorf @ Interpack, hall 1, room 16a

The session includes short presentations by BIOnTop experts followed by an interactive format to bring you in dialogue with the demonstrators’ representatives.

50 participants maximum – registration on a first come, first served basis. Please note that you need to have a valid ticket for Interpack in order to attend this workshop.

Registration page: https://www.european-bioplastics.org/biontop-workshop-at-interpack-2023/

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Interested in biobased, bompostable and recyclable packaging films and textiles? Join us for our #biontop workshop on 14 Dec 2022,online and in person in Pisa (in English). Organisation: INSTM - Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali

Agenda

9.00: Introduction, Andrea Lazzeri, INSTM & UNIPI, Italy

9.15: Overview of BIONTOP project, Rafael Alonso, AIMPLAS, Spain

9.40: Biobased, biodegradable and recyclable materials for films and trays, Maria-Beatrice Coltelli, INSTM & UNIPI, Italy

10.05: Biobased materials for textile packaging and its coating, Willem Uyttendaele, Centexbel, Belgium 10.30: Surface modification of films, Corina Reichert, Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, Germany

10.55: Bioplastics from research to policy: Where is European policy making heading for? Chiara Bearzotti, European Bioplastics

11.20-11.45: End of seminar and coffee break for participants

This is an in-person and online event. It will be possible to attend the workshop online on MS teams, for registration, please contact the organiser on the email address listed on this page.

#biobased #biobasedmaterials #compostablepackaging #recyclablepackaging #biobasedfilms #biobasedtextiles #compostablepackaging #bioplastics #environmentalbenefits #climatebenefits #biontop #PPWD #EGD #europeangreendeal #PPWD #ESR #ECR #knowledgetransfer #earlycareerresearchers #boostyourcareer

In the past 36 months, the experts of the EU-funded project BIOnTop have found ways to develop new bio-copolymers, biocomposites and coating formulations for packaging of food, fruits and personal care products, as well as innovative textiles.

Interested in getting to know more about this innovative packaging? Meet our expert, Dr. Corina Reichert (Hochschule Albstadt-Sigmaringen) for breakfast. Get the chance to learn about the recent achievements in BIOnTop in the field of biopolymer coatings and ask your questions about future developments.

When: 6 December 2022 
Time: from 8:30 to 9:00 a.m.
Where: Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin

The session includes a short presentation on BIOnTop results and a Q&A session with our expert.
Limited seats available: 20 participants maximum – registration on first come, first serve basis.

Register here

Sergio Quesada (ENCO) will present the BIOnTop project at the European Bioplastics Annual Conference, on 6-7 December 2022, in the poster session. This is a conference for all operators working in the field of bioplastics. Participants are coming from all over the world. The poster will be exhibited in the exhibition area of the conference for the entire time of the event.

When: 6-7 December 2022

Where: Maritim proArte Hotel, Berlin (DE)

Link to the conference

The 4th International Congress "Advances in packaging industry" (API 2022) was held in Naples on 24-25 November 2022 with a focus on Sustainability: Products and Processes. Andrea Lazzeri of the partners Planet Bioplastics and Università di Pisa presented the #BIOnTop approach and processes. Link to Zenodo

#Packagingindustry #Sustainablepackaging #biontop #planetbioplastics

How does EU #research on bio-based and #biodegradable plastics feed into #EU policies? How to better align them? 49 EU funded project, including BIOnTop, represented by the project partner European Bioplastics, and EU policy officers met to discuss how to better align them and how can the EU funded research project can contribute to EU policies. The 7th European Bioplastics Research Network (EBRN) event “Projects2Policy: Aligning outcomes from EU projects with the EU policy for bio-based and biodegradable plastics” on 23rd November 2022 brought together representatives of projects as well as numerous EU policy officers in the field of bio-based and biodegradable plastics to discuss recommendations to EU policy for these materials. The event was organized by the BIO-PLASTICS EUROPE project in cooperation with GLAUKOS. • In the first session, the outcomes and main conclusions of the workshop were presented and discussed with the EU officers., which will follow by a question-and-answer session from projects to policy officers, focusing on what is needed to shorten the gap between project results and policy. • In the second part, the event focused on the outcomes form the workshops regarding how to make the project's policy recommendations more actionable by the policy makers and in general by the stakeholders. The event aimed to close the gap between research and policy and therefore contributes to a more effective exchange and sharing of knowledge.

Check the recording of the workshop here

Impacts matter. On 22 November 2022, BIOnTop met its independent advisors for dissemination and stakeholder mobilisation. The goal of the meeting was to focus on the strategy for the upcoming 6 months. Time to wrap up, time to increase the transfer of results. Many thanks to Pernille Martiny Modvig, Serena Rebollo González de la Aleja, Hannah Grist and Sebastian Pucu?ek for their excellent inputs and suggestions. Special thanks also to our partner Dr. Corina Reichert (ASU) for such a comprehensive and clear report on the latest results, and to European Bioplastics team Chiara Bearzotti and Estela Lopez-Hermoso for facilitating the discussion.

#biontop #biontoplegacy #outreach #dissemination #impactstories #impactmatters #stakeholderengagement #impactresearcheu #impacts #harvestresults

Partner BIO-MI was invited to give a talk at the Careers’ Week of the University of Rijeka (Croatia)., Faculty of Economics and Business. BIOnTop expert Ivona Miketa (BIO-MI) presented the work of the project to early-career scientists during this event. The goal of the event was to inform students about business opportunities, trends in the business environment and to connect them with potential employers. The whole week, experts from practice talked about current economic trends with the students.

Representatives from industry and research organisations, through interesting lectures, brought closer current business challenges which they face every day, transfer their practical experiences to students and informed them about employment opportunities. Besides that, employers presented student jobs, internships, and grants they offer to students.

The event was co-financed from the European Social Fund (ESF), Operational Program "Effective Human Resources 2014 - 2020".

When: 7 November 2022

Location: Rijeka (HR)

Link to the event

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There is a lot of discussion today about avoiding packaging - often very emotionally and sometimes ideologically. The first European Inno-Meeting has shown the benefits and side effects of packaging on the climate.

• Where are the greatest potentials for improvement?

• Does packaging have any direct influence on the climate at all?

• Is the carbon footprint the only parameter for evaluating the climate impact of packaged food and goods?

• What role does the circular economy actually play along the supply chain?

• Is there enough differentiation between climate and environment in today's debate?

• Are paper and biopolymers the coming solutions as packaging material?

Well-known experts and impartial newcomers share their insights to discuss the latest trends, solutions and fundamental issues with you in a network of European retail packaging experts, brand owners and suppliers. Markus Schmid (ASU) held a talk on “Circular bioeconomy and food packaging concepts” giving some expert insights on BIOnTop results. Target audience: Decision-makers/managing directors, CTO´s from food and packaging - production, purchasing, sales and development and all flexpack enthusiasts

When: 2 October 2022

Location: hybrid event, online and in-person in Berlin (DE)

Link to the event

BionTop project partner David Nettleton from IRIS Technology Solutions presented in July 2022 at #SIMULTECH 2022 his research results related to "Biodegradation prediction and modelling for decision support”, a mathematical #AI model that allows predicting the #biodegradation of natural materials (eg. #Bioplastics) of food origin that are candidates to replace carbon compounds currently used in the automotive industry, electronics, plastic bags, among others. Interesting in reading more? Grab your copy of the proceedings

#SIMULTECH #bioplastics #AI #biodegradaton #decisionmaking #prediction #modelling #biontop

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In the third article about the BIOnTop project, the BIOnTop team from the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University reports the current progress in the field of bio-based multilayer development in the magazine Plastverarbeiter. In detail, whey protein and alginate based coatings have been optimized on PLA/PBSA substrates which resulted in remarkable reduction in oxygen permeability for both films and thermoformed trays. For more information, have a look on the magazine article: https://www.plastverarbeiter.de/preview-reader/eu-projekt-biontop--beitrag-3-383.html?postPreview=452753&postCheck=2b0a5a18fa87045474b9184629dbdf74

Since 2019 Entrepinares is part of the BIOnTOP project wich is funded by the European Commission within the R+D+i Horizon 2020 Program. The main goal of the project is to develop sustainable packaging. In this way, Entrepinares unite innovation and sustainability and work together along other 21 companies, technology centers and universities from 8 countries: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia and Spain. Please note that the linked article is only available in Spanish: https://diariodevalladolid.elmundo.es/articulo/especiales/sostenibilidad-medio-ambiente-2021/20210604205403400163.html

ECOFUNCO project is coordinating a workshop focused on bio-based materials, with the aim of sharing the expertise gained during the project. The partners involved will deliver presentations on a variety of topics, from chemical extraction of bio-based molecules to sustainability assessment. Furthermore, representatives from the ECOFUNCO advisory board and the BionTop project have been invited to expand the impact of the talks.

The workshop will be held on Wednesday 16 June 2021, from 9.30 to 18 (online) and it is free of charge.

Follow this link in order to register to the event: https://www.ecofunco.eu/workshop

Deadline for registration is on Monday 14 June 2021. All that register will receive a link to the workshop by email 1-2 days before the event.

The eighth edition of the .eu Web Awards has started, and BIOnTop's homepage is one of its nominees, being part of the .eu-Top Level Domain family. Feel free to support us in the competition and make your vote for BIOnTop here until 5 August 2021: https://webawards.eurid.eu/?q=biontop.eu The 18 finalists (three from each category) will be announced on 16 August 2021 and invited to the .eu Web Awards Gala in September 2021, where the six winners will be announced, one from each category. The winners will get a premium prize package, including a three-month billboard advertising campaign at Brussels Airport, a custom-made promotional video, and a trophy. The .eu Web Award is an online competition that started in 2014. It is meant to honour websites with an appealing design, high-quality content, and strict security rules. The award is presented in six categories utilizing the .eu top-level domain, helping to create a common European internet identity. The .eu Web Award is hosted by EURid (European Registry for Internet Domains), a non-profit organisation based in Diegem near Brussels, Belgium. EURid is responsible for the operational and technical management of the .eu top-level domain on behalf of the European Commission since 2003.

Rafael Alonso, the main researcher of the BIOnTop Project at AIMPLAS, participated in the online event "Towards A Sustainable Industrial Chemistry Model In Europe", discussing the European chemical industry's new challenges of adapting to sustainability and circularity, which are indispensable to overcome current limitations: product and process life cycle linearity, resource constraints, greenhouse gases and pollution, and the need for decarbonization, among others. The progress of six BBI JU projects – among them BIOnTOP, presented by Rafael Alonso – gave an overview of the initiatives' progress and current success in manufacturing high value-added raw materials from renewable sources or by-products and developing fully recycled and recyclable packaging materials. The webinar, held on 18 May 2021, was kindly hosted by TECNALIA, which is a leading Research and Technological Development Centre in Europe, whose mission is to transform technology into GDP to improve people’s quality of life by creating business opportunities for companies, being a member of BRTA (Basque Research and Technology Alliance).

Committed to local raw materials since its foundation in 1984, our BIOnTop project partner Queserías Entrepinares has been on a steady way to ensure the sustainability of dairy farms. BIOnTop is an essential building block in Entrepinare's drive towards more sustainable packaging of cheese products. Read more about how projects from the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking and Horizon 2020, among others, are helping Entrepinares to improve cheese production in "El Día de Valladolid" (02/05/2021). Please note that the linked article is only available in Spanish: https://www.eldiadevalladolid.com/noticia/Z5B469D8C-E8C0-CB29-309580BB03C2F9D1/202104/apuesta-por-la-materia-prima-local

In an article published in the magazine Plasterverarbeiter, the recent experimental results about protein coating are outlined. In principle, the development of biobased coating as potential tool to increase the barrier properties of PLA-based flexible films was illustrated. By using an innovative fatty acid grafting process to modify the surface of whey protein films led to a reduction in the water vapor permeability and a water repellance effect. The variation in process parameters such as temperature and time led to an optimization of the covalent bond formation of fatty acids on top of the whey protein films. Whereas pure whey protein films are hydrophilic and water droplets directly immerse into the film, the fatty acid grafted protein films showed a contact angle above 100° which means the formation of a hydrophobic surface. This hydrophobic surface is also suitable to enhance the easy emptying properties. Overall, the biobased protein coating and fatty acid grafting approach provides high potential to develop biobased packaging offering new end-of-life scenarios such as home compostability and sea water degradability which is under analysis by the BIOnTop team. Ongoing research focus on the upscaling of the coating and grafting as well as the optimization of the coating formulations for thermoformed materials.

Please find the article (in German) under the following link: https://www.plastverarbeiter.de/109061/biobasierte-barrierebeschichtungen

Image from pixabay.com

In its first year, the European project BIOnTop has achieved good results in its experimental work on copolymers and compounds with customized biodegradability and multifunctional coating solutions with customized properties. Although these tasks are currently ongoing, the first trials have shown promising results. 
Another task performed in this first year was defining the specifications for PLA-based products with customized end of life and properties. Two technical deliverables and one scientific paper have been published with these initial project results. The first deliverable is an extensive review of the state of the art, including scientific papers, patents and commercial information on biodegradable household packaging and textiles. The information in this deliverable was consulted to write the paper Bio-Based Packaging: Materials, Modifications, Industrial Applications and Sustainability, published in the international scientific journal Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). The second deliverable consists of a compilation of information on commercial biopolymers, additives and monomers, including suppliers and prices, in order to select the source materials to be used to start working with the laboratory scale-up formulation in upcoming project activities. All three documents are accessible through this website (dissemination-publications).  The paper is also available on the journal website.

Since its inception in 2014, BBI JU has contributed to the development of Europe’s competitive and sustainable bio-based industries sector. Through 123 projects funded by BBI JU, close to 1,000 beneficiaries from 37 countries are laying the foundations for a green recovery of Europe.
The booklet published highlights the environmental, socio-economic and technological impacts of BBI JU, and how BBI JU projects are contributing to the EU’s environment and sustainability goals. The high creation rate of skilled jobs and collaboration links between academia and industry, as well as the great leverage effect of investments made in these projects prove the success of the BBI JU model.
Access the publication

Albstadt-Sigmaringen University released an article about BIOnTop in IDM International Dairy Magazine 05/2020. The bi-monthly published English-language trade journal offers an up-to-date summary of global dairy industry developments. The article gives an overview of BIOnTop's general approach to the production of bio-based packaging and how innovations such as whey-protein based coatings and PLA-based films will support the dairy industry to use more renewable and recyclable packaging, that fulfils the technical specifications needed to pack dairy products.

BIOnTop’s partner Albstadt-Sigmaringen University has published an article about the project at Plastverarbeiter magazine. This publication supports plastics processors in designing production in a cost and resource-efficient way as well as recognizing new market opportunities at an early stage. Innovative products and production strategies are also presented, as are concrete practice problems.

The article gives an overview of the project, focused on polylactic acid material, explaining how different teams work on coating technqiues as well as on composites to increase the barrier and mechanical properties of polylactic acid based films and textiles to develop an environmentally friendly alternative to the plastic packaging currently produced from crude oil.

Link to the article

Rafael Alonso, main researcher of BIOnTop Project at AIMPLAS, participated on the 2nd day (13/05/2020) of the 13th International Conference on Bio-based materials organized by nova-Institut GmbH. This conference is the second largest event on bio-based materials in Europe, with around 250 participants and 30 exhibitors, and continues to expand. Due to the Corona crisis, this year's conference couldn't take place in its established and appreciated format but it was held online.

Rafael Alonso was one of the selected speakers with its presentation "Novel bio-based polymers and biomolecules for sustainable packaging developments". He presented BIOnTop and three more projects in which AIMPLAS is involved on this subject.

Researchers from the EU-funded project REFUCOAT presented key outcomes during their virtual event “From plastics to policy: how can we improve the performance of food packaging?” The event was held in two parts:

• Session 1 on Tuesday 5 May: Environmental and regulatory challenges related to bio-plastics
• Session 2 on Thursday 7 May: The technology behind bio-plastics

Over 100 participants gathered online to hear presentations about key results coming from the project which will end in September 2020.

Elodie Bugnicourt, from our partner IRIS and also partner in REFUCOAT Project, mentioned BIOnTop's approach in the presentation Recycling of complex packaging structures.

See presentation

Find more about REFUCOAT event (all presentations)

Elodie Bugnicourt, from our partner IRIS, has published an interesting article in Bioplastics Magazine about Emerging circular biobased barrier solutions, including those to be developed in BIOnTop Project.

Read the article E. Bugnicourt et al., Bioplastics Magazine, Vol. 5, September 2019

Kick-off Meeting of the BIOnTop Project, coordinated by AIMPLAS, was held on the 17th and 18th June 2019.

The four-year project aims at delivering bio-based recyclable-by-design cost competitive packaging solutions that can be mechanically recycled, industrially or home compostable, or suitable for anaerobic digestion.

Leading experts from 21 organisations based in 8 European countries form the project consortium. At this first meeting, they could share their general view of the project and to plan in detail the steps to be taken in the next 6 months.

During this first stage of the project, the progress will focus on the definition of specifications for PLA derived products with tailored end of life and properties and the development of copolymers and compounds with tailored biodegradability.

During the meeting, partners also visited AIMPLAS’s facilities, where the meeting was held.