About Sustainpack ::
Fibre-based packaging - requirements for the future
The demands on packaging are continually changing, influenced by a variety of factors ranging from increases in functionality, to improvements in economics and meeting environmental and legislative measures. In a changing and expanding market-place, the potential for fibre based packaging is massive, but in order to capture this potential to its full fibre based packaging materials need to:
- perform better with less fibres have built in barrier properties
- be active and interactive
- provide new structural design opportunities
Giving fibre-based packaging new properties
The SustainPack project will extend the limits of fibre based packaging materials through the application of nanotechnologies to put the European industry at the forefront of global fibre-based packaging technology, and to provide users and consumers with more added value packaging choices based on a sustainable resource. The SustainPack project will overcome the challenges of commercialisation of new technologies by:
- identifying what the market actually needs from fibre-based packaging
- conducting applied research directed towards delivering fibre-based packaging solutions that address these market needs
- delivering demonstration projects that prove the technical and commercial viability of the technologies
Project structure
SustainPack is a pull-driven project, focusing on customer and downstream supply chain needs in order to identify and prioritise research requirements and to integrate other key themes such as sustainability, European competitiveness, legislation and policy. The work programme for SustainPack is structured around a series of six Sub-Projects:
- Sub-Project 1 will determine the market needs and therefore provide direction for the applied research projects. Success of SustainPack will be confirmed through a series of demonstration projects with industry partners delivering commercially and technically viable nanotechnology packaging solutions
- Sub-Project 2 will involve the establishment of a nanofacility for the production of cellulose and mineral based nanostructures for use in other research Sub-Projects. The sub-project will deliver lean and effective fibre based materials
- Sub-Project 3 will develop renewable composite films, incorporating fibres materials and renewable plastics, to compete with synthetic polymers
- Sub-Project 4 will develop coating and printing technologies to enhance barriers and other functional properties
- Sub-Project 5 will develop fibre based 3-D composite packaging solutions
- Sub-Project 6 will develop one and two way communicative packaging.
How the sub-projects inter-relate
Audiovisual clips
How the SustainPack Project came about [WMV file - 3.8MB]
The use of nanotechnology in SustainPack [WMV file - 1.5MB]
