Firm Also Receives $550,000 Compostable Coffee Pod Order from US : £273,000 Grant for Biome Technologies’ Compostable Bioplastics Materials
The Bioplastics Division of UK firm biotech firm, Biome, has been awarded funding of £273,000 from the UK Government's Innovate UK initiative to support a new £350,000 collaborative project to scale-up its compostable bioplastic materials with the University of Nottingham's Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.
The company explained that In line with expanding Biome Bioplastics materials portfolio using novel technology, this funding will accelerate the testing of the commercial viability of the three most exciting candidate materials in the division's current research portfolio.
The project will use microwave technology in the development of an efficient, industrially scalable manufacturing process and will conduct further larger-scale testing at the Biorenewables Development Centre in York.
Since 2013, Biome's Bioplastics division has directed more than six million pounds of research and development funding, supported by various grants and in association with a number of leading UK universities, towards a new portfolio of bio-based and biodegradable materials.
This work is focused on the replacement of aromatic co-polymers currently widely used in the market with a new generation of heteroaromatic polyesters, which have the potential for differentiated functional performance coupled with tailored biodegradation.
It is anticipated that this project will start in October 2020 and will be completed within two years.
Paul Mines, Biome Technologies' Chief Executive: "This latest research project is an important enabling step in understanding the performance and functionality of Biome's most exciting novel polymers. We believe these materials could represent an important addition to the business's product range in due course and will bring benefits to manufacturers, consumers and the environment."
Derek Irvine, Professor of Materials Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham: "Developing differentiated and commercially viable new products and processes, which have sustainability as a key focus, is one of our core interests and capabilities. We are excited to be working with Biome to apply our skills and knowledge to these interesting new sustainable polymers."
US Coffee Pod Order
Earlier this month the company also received an order worth $550,000 from an existing major client operating in the United States packaging market.
This order, which provides support for the division’s financial expectations for this year, is the largest single order to date for Biome’s heat-stable and compostable bioplastic for coffee pod applications, which was first commercialised in 2019. Deliveries under this order are due to be completed in the next two months.
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