- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Q&A
We’re proactively developing a next-generation packaging platform that keeps materials in circulation—designed for strong recyclability in paper streams and credible compostability pathways where appropriate. This direction also aligns with evolving policy and infrastructure: frameworks such as the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and California Senate Bill 54 (SB54) are accelerating expectations for packaging that is demonstrably recyclable or compostable, increasing market pressure on formats that fall short.
At the same time, paper-based flexible packaging must still protect product quality and run reliably on high-speed flow wrap lines. Our experience shows that paper structures often require more delicate handling and can raise risks of transit damage, sealing variability, and line disruption if not engineered for real equipment constraints.
The key technical barrier is delivering recyclability- or compostability-ready paper structures without sacrificing flow wrap performance— moisture barrier, grease resistance, mechanical durability, seal reliability, and print durability—especially after the material is formed and processed, not just tested as a flat sheet.
We invite materials innovators, coating developers, fiber-based packaging specialists, and cross-industry technology providers to collaborate on paper packaging systems that meet recyclability or compostability expectations while matching incumbent operational performance—and that can be rapidly prototyped, validated, and scaled for commercial use.
We are seeking coating materials, barrier systems, fiber treatments, or process technologies that enable high-barrier paper-based packaging with strong functional performance and compatibility with high-speed Horizontal Form-Fill-Seal (HFFS) flow-wrap and Stand-up-Pouch (SUP) equipment. The ultimate goal is reliable forming, sealing, and cutting performance at commercial speeds (~100 ppm), along with structural integrity through processing and distribution.
- Substrate & fiber engineering (functional papers, fiber blends, surface sizing, fiber modification)
- PFAS-free barrier coatings & chemistries (bio based, synthetic, or hybrid)
- Surface treatment or thin film technologies, such as plasma, vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition (ALD)
- Repulpable multilayer paper structures
- Target moisture barrier after forming: water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) < 1 g/m²/24hr after forming (not flat sheet), under the defined test conditions of ASTM F1249
- Grease resistance: KIT rating 12 (grease resistance; “Kit Test” per TAPPI T559) or equivalent demonstrated grease barrier performance
- Mechanical durability: high puncture resistance with a target puncture force of ~15 newtons (N) or equivalent validated puncture metric
- Paper basis weight window: total basis weight 30–75 grams per square meter (g/m²)
- Low non-fiber content: <5% non-fiber content; solutions with >5% non-fiber content must be credibly demonstrated as recyclable or compostable through technical evidence
- End of life: recyclable in paper streams (preferred) or certified compostable, with evidence or a clear plan to validate
- Lower CO₂ footprint, renewable or upcycled inputs, and better overall LCA
- Compatibility with flexographic printing, with reasonable durability against scuffing (given surface print constraints on paper)
- Any solution with intentionally added PFAS or fluorinated compounds
- Non-recyclable and non-compostable structures
- PET, PE, or aluminum foil laminates as primary barrier approaches
- Solutions that require entirely new capital equipment to run at target speeds
- Two-sided coated paper solution
The Q&A is now closed.
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