Descripción del proyecto
Un biomaterial ecológico fabricado con nanocelulosa a un paso de los mercados
Cellugy, una empresa biotecnológica naciente con base en Dinamarca, está sustituyendo los plásticos de un solo uso por celulosa 100 % natural. El nuevo biomaterial puede reemplazar el plástico en diversas aplicaciones de envasado y es completamente inocuo para el medio ambiente. Puede utilizarse en combinación con papel, cartón y otros materiales de base biológica; además cumple los requisitos de rendimiento para la industria del envasado, al tiempo que es completamente reciclable y biodegradable. Tras obtener financiación para el desarrollo del nuevo biomaterial, Cellugy ahora se propone, en el marco del proyecto financiado con fondos europeos EcoFLEXY, aumentar la producción centrándose en estrategias de optimización técnica, una configuración de la planta piloto y las actividades pertinentes previas al despliegue.
Objetivo
Plastic pollution is a dramatic problem of our times. A large percentage of plastic production is destined to packaging, which is designed for single use but at the same time can stay in the environment for thousands of years. Efforts to replace conventional, oil-based plastics with more environmentally friendly materials have so far failed due to their reliance on food crops and end-of-life challenges. Cellugy has designed EcoFLEXY, a biomaterial able to replace plastics in several packaging applications, which is completely harmless to the environment. EcoFLEXY is produced by bacteria and yeast starting from sugar or agro-industrial waste, in low-energy conditions. Being made of nanocellulose, EcoFLEXY can be either recycled in the paperboard stream or home composted, whereas if leaking into the environment it safely biodegrades in a short time, leaving no toxic residues behind. EcoFLEXY production emit 94% less CO2 emissions compared to conventional plastics and at the same time enables a circular economy by making use of second-generation feedstocks. Cellugy will first sell EcoFLEXY to packaging companies and chemical companies serving them. It will start marketing Cellugy in Northern Europe where consumer and customer demand for sustainable products is highest. EcoFLEXY will be sold at a price competitive to that of bioplastics, leveraging on important collaborations within the chemical and packaging industry. To reach market launch, Cellugy will expand its production from the laboratory to a full industrial volume scale in a stepwise manner, with considerable interest from prospective investors in the biotech sector to follow product development. Cellugy’s team is well-rounded and led by award-winning entrepreneur Dr Isabel Alvarez Martos.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriology
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managemententrepreneurship
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybiomaterialsbioplastics
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020-4
Régimen de financiación
SME-2 - SME instrument phase 2Coordinador
2860 Soborg
Dinamarca
Organización definida por ella misma como pequeña y mediana empresa (pyme) en el momento de la firma del acuerdo de subvención.