From a spring promise to a midsummer fruit, it took us 100 days!
After 100 days of collaborative research across the industry chain, PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) water-based barrier coating technology has reached a decisive moment. Recently, PHA water-based barrier coating has successfully completed industrial-scale scale-up production at the Ningbo base of APP Sinar Mas (China), marking the success of the first industrial-level production line verification of PHA water-based barrier coating in the world. All performance indicators of the produced PHA food card barrier paper have reached predetermined standards.
This achievement not only successfully opened up the entire industrial chain from PHA biosynthesis to terminal paper product applications, but also marked that this environmentally friendly packaging technology has completed key industrial verification, laying a solid foundation for subsequent large-scale commercial application.
The success of this industrial-grade trial production is an important result of cross-border collaboration and full-chain innovation among four partners: Bluepha (PHA raw material supplier), DBC (PHA water-based barrier coating technology solution provider), APP Sinar Mas (leading papermaking company) and Hengxin Life (leading paper cup manufacturing company). It marks that a new, environmentally friendly packaging solution is ready to move from ideal to reality, providing a powerful "Chinese solution" to solve the problem of "global white pollution".
Four parties cooperate across enterprises to open up the "last mile" of green packaging
While traditional PE plastic-coated paper cups and bowls bring convenience, they also put huge pressure on the environment because they cannot be degraded and are extremely difficult to recycle. PLA coated paper cupping needs to be degraded under industrial conditions, and is difficult to achieve in the recycling and repulping process. Finding an environmentally friendly material that can not only meet the barrier properties of water and oil, but also be recyclable and completely biodegradable has become a common challenge faced by the industry.
As a natural polymer material synthesized by microorganisms, PHA has excellent biodegradability and material properties, and is regarded as one of the ideal alternatives to traditional plastics. However, to transform the PHA raw materials in the laboratory into a modern papermaking industrial production line that can meet the barrier conditions of water-based coatings and adapt to high speed and high temperature, and finally make qualified consumer products, it is necessary to open up multiple links such as technology, production, and application.
In this cooperation, the four companies each performed their own duties and created an effective closed loop of innovation:
From PHA raw materials to water-based barrier coating, to PHA food cardboard, and finally to formed paper cups, the entire process was completed in just 100 days, demonstrating the amazing efficiency and "China speed" brought about by the collaboration of the industrial chain.
Milestone breakthrough, leading the green transformation of the industry
The successful trial production of PHA water-based barrier coated paper at the industrial level of APP Sinar Mas is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a successful verification of a new industrial collaboration model. Regarding this milestone success, the responsible persons from all parties expressed their respective views.
Wang Lexiang, global CEO of the large paper business group of Sinar Mas Group, said: "The application of PHA water-based coatings on high-speed paper machines is the innovative technology goal of Sinar Mas Group. Through bold and careful attempts, this not only adds more sustainable options to our product line, but also provides valuable experience for the green transformation of the entire paper industry. This result is a strong proof that Sinar Mas Group deeply integrates ESG concepts into its core business and drives corporate social responsibility through technological innovation."
Lin Fanqiu, chairman of DBC, added: "PHA is a world-class new material with great potential. Its natural properties are derived from nature and belong to nature. Our job is to discover and modify its capabilities. After this cooperation, DBC has developed two major water-based barrier coating technology solutions The project - focusing on plastic reduction and recyclable ecoten technology to achieve plastic-free, compostable and degradable bioten bio-based technology - has been successfully verified. The results of this work today can participate in global environmental governance, which makes our continued efforts extremely determined. "
Xu Xuanming, chairman of Bluepha, believes: "The success of this industrial-grade trial production is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a successful verification of a new industrial collaboration model. It proves that as long as the upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain have consistent goals and open collaboration, they can greatly shorten the innovation cycle and accelerate the pace of PHA technology from the laboratory to the market."
Yan Deping, Chairman of Hengxin Life, concluded: "Technological innovation and industry leadership have always been the principles for Hengxin people to move forward. The speed of this PHA water-based coating cooperation innovation is in line with the needs of high-quality competitive development in the global industry. Our strategic goal is to become an outstanding global enterprise, and this cooperation is our fulfillment of our commitment "The PHA coating produced in this industrial-grade trial production has reached the expected standards in key indicators such as waterproofing, oil-proofing, and heat-sealing properties. It can be biodegraded in natural environments such as recycling and home composting, and has no harmful substance residues. This allows us to be confident in providing services to more famous catering brands around the world."
Looking forward to the future, the four parties will continue to deepen strategic cooperation and accelerate the large-scale production and commercialization process of PHA coated paper. Our goal is to bring a series of high-performance green packaging products, including paper cups and lunch boxes, to the market as soon as possible to provide global consumers with safe, reliable and truly environmentally friendly choices. This will not only contribute a key force to the realization of China's "double carbon" goal, but also provide a powerful Chinese solution for global food and catering companies to cope with increasingly stringent ESG regulations and achieve sustainable development goals.
Introduction to the four-party cooperative enterprises (in order of upstream and downstream of the industrial chain)
About micro-building factory (PHABuider)
Bluepha is an innovative and influential technology company in the frontier field of biomanufacturing. With the core mission of "From Microbes to a Green Future", it develops and manufactures green polymer biomaterials PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) through the transformation and engineering application of halophilic microorganisms. Relying on the founding team's nearly 40 years of PHA research, Bluepha continues to explore more than 10 billion combinations of PHA families, develops modified applications that meet market demand, and works with industry chain partners to provide overall PHA industrialization solutions, and ultimately promotes the realization of the beautiful vision of "making PHA Life a lifestyle for thousands of households", landing PHAmily-PHAbrary-PHAdustry-PHA Life" innovation strategic path. In the future, Bluepha will continue to provide sustainable solutions based on green bio-based materials to global customers with its core positioning as "a global leader in synthetic biology and bio-manufacturing".
About DBC (DBC)
DBC is an innovative enterprise focusing on the application of new materials. It is committed to technology investment, R&D and manufacturing of environmentally friendly high-performance materials and green low-carbon industries. Since its establishment in Shanghai in 2010, it has rapidly grown into a representative of "Shanghai Innovative Enterprises" and "Specialized New Enterprises" by virtue of its continuous exploration of functional and environmentally friendly materials. Business coverage: R&D and application innovation of environmentally friendly high-performance materials, application scenarios in multiple fields such as new energy materials, environmentally friendly coatings, adhesives, additives, urban renewal and low-carbon buildings. DBC's two major environmentally friendly high-performance coating technology solutions, Ecoten™ barrier coating technology focuses on plastic reduction and recyclability, and Bioten™ PHA barrier coating technology focuses on compostability and degradability. It uses leading technical solutions to create more excellent products using the new energy material polyhydroxyalkanoate.
About Sinar Mas Group (APP)
The full name of Sinar Mas Group APP (China) is Sinar Mas Paper (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and its companies invested in mainland China. Since entering China in 1992, it has always adhered to the sustainable development strategy and strived to practice green recycling with the concept of "forest-pulp-paper integration" of sustainable papermaking. At present, APP (China) has forestry division, pulp division, large paper division group, household paper division, etc. With sales in China of approximately 92.6 billion yuan in 2023, total assets of approximately 242.7 billion yuan, and 26,000 full-time employees, it is a world-famous paper company.
About Hengxin Life (HXIN)
Hengxin Life (stock code: 301501), founded in 1997, is a high-tech enterprise engaged in the research, development, production and sales of paper and plastic tableware. The company has a rich product line and excellent product quality. It has become a supplier of paper and plastic tableware to many well-known domestic and foreign companies. The company has a dominant position in the field of biodegradable tableware, and its sales area covers Asia, North America, Oceania, Europe and other countries and regions. The company is the vice-president unit of the Degradable Plastics Professional Committee of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association. It has been rated as one of the top ten enterprises in China's light industrial plastics industry (degradable plastics) for six consecutive years. It has been rated as the "Specialized, Special and New" champion enterprise in Anhui Province, and the "Third Product" demonstration enterprise in the consumer goods industry in Anhui Province. It was selected into the fourth batch of specialized, special and new "Little Giant" enterprise lists; it won the China Light Industry Advanced Unit Award for Integration of Informatization and Industrialization, and the Bio-based and Biodegradable Materials Market Promotion Contribution Award. The company has multiple production bases, and its products cover catering industries such as fast food, takeout, and beverages, as well as various consumption scenarios such as large enterprises or institutions, civil aviation, and household daily consumption. It has the production capacity for the entire product process; the company's biodegradable tableware can be biodegraded and can help achieve the "double carbon" goal, which is in line with the national strategic direction.
