The EU-funded BioSupPack project has successfully demonstrated that beer production waste can be transformed into high-performance bioplastics for sustainable packaging. For five years, the project consortium has developed and validated innovative polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA and PHB) materials and production processes that offer viable alternatives to fossil-based plastics, while also contributing to compliance with the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

The 18 consortium partners have worked under the coordination of Aimplas, the Technological Institute of Plastics. Rosa González Leyba, project coordinator, highlights that “BioSupPack has demonstrated that we can create a true circular economy by transforming brewing waste into high-value packaging materials and then recycling this waste using innovative technologies such as enzymatic recycling. Our consortium has successfully scaled up new biorefinery processes and developed bio-based materials for rigid packaging intended for food and non-food applications, obtaining prototypes very close to current market equivalents.”

Six Key Innovations
At demonstration scale and in real-world operating environments, BioSupPack has developed and validated key innovations that address critical challenges in the packaging industry:

• Biorefinery process to produce PHB from brewer's spent grain: A scalable bioprocess has been developed that efficiently converts brewer's spent grain into high-purity PHB through an innovative plasma pretreatment and microbial fermentation. This innovation transforms a low-value waste product into a functional biopolymer and creates an industrial symbiosis between breweries and bioplastics producers. The process has reached a TRL of 6, demonstrating its viability in industrially relevant environments.

• PHA-based coating formulations and fiber-based compostable packaging: PHA plastisol coatings have been developed that are 99% bio-based and fully biodegradable. These coatings can be applied to cardboard as an alternative to PE coatings, as well as to textiles as a substitute for PVC. The innovation is protected by a Centexbel patent and has reached TRL of 6, ready for licensing to coating manufacturers.

• Fiber-based compostable packaging: The consortium has created fiber-based, industrially compostable packaging with barrier properties comparable to fossil-based plastics. Applications include ice cream cups and trays. This solution allows companies to meet sustainability goals by offering dual end-of-life options. The innovation has reached TRL of 7.

• PHB formulations for rigid packaging: Sabiomaterials has developed PHB-based materials optimized for rigid packaging applications such as bottles and retail displays. The materials are produced from renewable waste streams, are fully biodegradable, mechanically and enzymatically recyclable, and have been specifically formulated to improve their processability through extrusion blow molding and injection molding. The innovation has reached TRL 7, with industrial-scale production.

• Rigid packaging for various sectors: Ilab has obtained bottles for sauces and personal care products, and Aimplas has developed and produced a beer bottle display for the retail sector.

• Sorting prototype for the new bio-based and enzymatic recycling process: The sorting prototype developed by Iris will allow the recovery of new packaging waste streams for subsequent enzymatic recycling, which has proven to be an effective end-of-life method thanks to the development of new selective enzymes.

Market Relevance and Industrial Impact

BioSupPack's innovations directly address the transformation of the packaging sector driven by the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). With the requirement for all packaging to be recyclable by 2030 and the growing demands for sustainability from consumers and regulators, the project's results offer validated pathways for the industry to transition from fossil-based solutions to circular, bio-based packaging.

The developed technologies can be integrated into existing industrial infrastructures, reducing the technical and economic barriers to their adoption.

The project provides key evidence for European policy frameworks such as the European Green Deal, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, and the Clean Industrial Deal. By demonstrating that high-performance bioplastics can be produced at scale from industrial waste, BioSupPack strengthens Europe's industrial resilience, resource independence, and climate objectives, creating new value chains and economic opportunities in the circular bioeconomy.

The results achieved by BioSupPack are now available for adoption by biopolymer producers, biorefineries, packaging manufacturers and brands in the food, cosmetics and consumer goods sectors.