Amcor has announced its investment of US$3 million (€2,891 million) in Swedish R&D and IP company PulPac, for its low-cost, high-performance fibre-based packaging.
Amcor is one of several strategic investors in a cross-industry alliance, which saw PulPac close a €31 million private placement led by Aliaxis. Along with Amcor Ventures, investment also came from Stora Enso and Teseo Capital, and other companies, which support the target of establishing Dry Moulded Fibre as the next global standard for sustainable packaging, replacing single-use plastics with circular fibre solutions.
PulPac is focused on developing its dry-moulded fibre technology for use as a viable, sustainable option for the packaging industry. This patented sustainable product and packaging solution uses renewable cellulose fibre and almost no water in the manufacturing process, and is claimed to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 per cent, compared to existing processes.
This cross-industry investment will support PulPac’s global commercialisation ambitions, enabling the company to deploy its solutions across markets and provide the potential for applications in Amcor’s own product ranges.
The alliance with PulPac and investment into its fibre technology also follow the launch of the AmFiber platform earlier this year, through which Amcor aims to redefine the capabilities of traditional paper packaging, and build upon Amcor’s extensive experience in paper and carton packaging.
Frank Lehmann, vice president of Corporate Venturing and Open Innovation at Amcor, said, “Amcor is committed to developing solutions that meet the needs of our customers, consumers and the environment. Amcor’s investment in PulPac will help to accelerate the global rollout of this innovative technology, as well as support research into its suitability for future applications.
Using PulPac’s dry-moulded fibre technology, the shape of products can be optimised for a wide variety of applications, including some that have traditionally not been able to employ a viable sustainable option.
Linus Larsson Green, co-founder and CEO of PulPac, said, “With the backing and support of such world-class partners including Amcor, we’ll continue to grow our offering and deploy our new packaging across the world. I look forward to working more with our partners and, through collaboration, providing solutions that are more sustainable.”
Amcor is engaged in multiple start-up investment opportunities, supporting their journeys through the sharing of expertise from Amcor’s own research and development teams, and exploring the potential for joint undertakings.
The company's recent activity includes strategic investments into ePac Flexible Packaging and PragmatIC Semiconductors, together with seed-funding for two start-ups – Nfinite Nanotechnology and Bloom Biorenewables Ltd – as part of the Amcor Lift-Off initiative, through which seed-stage start-up companies can secure investment of $250,000 toward the development of innovative and sustainable technologies.
Earlier this year, PulPac partnered with HS Manufacturing Group (HSMG) to develop barrier technologies for dry-moulded fibre products.
PulPac has also colloborated with:
- PA Consulting (PA), which has become PulPac's key strategic partner to brands. Under the agreement, PA will focus on brand activation – working with brands to develop new applications for Dry Moulded Fibre, such as primary and secondary packaging, and replacing plastic in product formulations, and
- PulPac licensee Hébert Group, along with MCC Verstraete and Pagès Group to develop Moulded Fibre Label (MFL) for Dry Molded Fiber products aim to bring the pioneering concept to market. MFL is said to provide maximum print quality and precise printing, easy-to-modify graphics, and single-material packaging. The glue-free MFL labels used for Dry Moulded Fibre applications are fibre-based, fully recyclable ensuring that the final MFL packaging is fully compatible with the paper recycling stream and biodegradable. The label is fused with the product in-line as it is moulded.
PulPac was recently granted a patent in Japan to cover Dry Moulded Fibre bottle-forming and more traditional single use objects traditionally made by plastics and wet forming.
PulPac now holds 32 patent families with more than 150 granted national patents and plus 60 pending patent applications. According to the company, new patent applications are filed continuously.
