Floreon, a spin-out technology from the University of Sheffield, has won the 2024 Innovation in Bioplastics Award.
The US Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) awarded Floreon for its Therma-Tech halogen-free, fire-resistant PLA-based compound, the world’s first bioplastic to achieve UL94V-0 flammability certification. The material is an alternative to flame retardant oil-based Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS). The PLA compound offers a safe and sustainable option for electrical goods. Derived from plants, it is suitable for chemical and mechanical recycling and has an up to seven times lower carbon footprint than oil-based plastic.
“Innovation is about providing people with more options, not less,” said Patrick Krieger, PLASTICS’ vice president of sustainability. “Floreon Therma-Tech offers companies that want to use biobased materials in durable applications, like building and construction, with sustainable attributes from beginning to end of life.”
The award recognises one outstanding innovation in unique and creative applications of bioplastics materials, products, or manufacturing processes by a company based in or outside the United States. Applications are judged based on three categories: innovation, environmental impact, and market impact.
“2024 is our year – we’ve scaled up three products: Floreon Therma-Tech, Dura-Tech and Bio-Tech, brought new talent onboard and successfully launched our first commercial application,” said Floreon’s CEO Sandrine Garnier. “Being recognised by our peers in the bioplastics space highlights that the industry shares our excitement for the technology’s far-reaching potential,” she added.
Previous Innovation in Bioplastics Award winners include Husky Technologies, Anellotech, Eastman, Danimer Scientific and WinCup, Novamont, and Avantium.
Floreon makes proprietary compounds based on polylactic acid bioresin (PLA) containing 70% to 90% renewable, plant-based raw materials, including corn and sugar cane. The company says the materials are tougher than traditional PLA and can deliver significant energy savings in processing. Its compounds can be injected moulded in existing manufacturing equipment and are suitable for construction, medical, cosmetics, automotive, electrical, toys, food & drinks, and 3D printing applications.
Earlier this year, the company secured GBP 250 million to scale up its bioplastics technology from the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). In November 2023, it also received a GBP 2 million investment by Northern Gritstone.
Source: sustainableplastics.com
