en.Wedoany.com Reported - A project led by an international consortium and the EU flagship initiative BIOWRAP has launched this month, aiming to develop and scale up what is claimed to be the "first" all-paper bubble wrap, PapairWrap, to an industrial level.
The project is supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) and its members, and is funded by the European Union. It is planned to run for five years with a total budget of approximately €19 million. Project management and overall coordination are led by Papair, a company based in Hanover, Germany, which developed the underlying technology and holds the relevant patents.
The project partners span Germany, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and Poland, comprising 14 organizations, including paper manufacturers, mechanical engineering firms, coating companies, plant-based paper alternative producers, research institutes, and universities.
According to reports, PapairWrap can be disposed of and fully recycled through the waste paper cycle. Compared to plastic, the product aims to reduce CO₂ emissions per square meter by 25% to 50%. A production plant with a technology readiness level of TRL 8 will be operational in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a claimed working width of 1,200 mm and a production speed of up to 100 meters per minute.
Papair states that the plant integrates nanocellulose composites, precision embossing, bio-based coatings, and fully digital process management into a single production line. The company says that the plant's technical design, economic performance, and environmental data will be documented and made publicly available to facilitate the replication of more production sites across Europe.
By 2031, the consortium's targets include replacing over 100 million square meters of plastic bubble wrap within five years of project completion; saving approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually; achieving a material recovery rate of at least 90% in paper recycling; attaining 70% consumer acceptance in tests across Europe; and creating more than 200 technical jobs throughout the supply chain.
In other EU developments, in April this year, the European Commission released a factsheet aimed at helping consumers understand the objectives and impacts of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. The following month, SK Chemicals announced that its copolyester ECOTRIA CLARO and PET-based SKYPET product series have received RecyClass recognition for recyclability in the PET recycling stream.
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