Highest award at the Green Product Award for PE-free paper packaging

Hülzweiler, June 2022

As part of a festive awards ceremony in Munich, the Green Product Awards for products and services that are outstanding in terms of design, innovation and sustainability were presented once again.  The award in the jury category “Best of New Materials” went to the environmentally friendly barrier coating NP® SiOPack® from Nanopool GmbH. The innovative solution enables the production of PE-free, compostable and recyclable packaging for direct food contact.

Food safety without plastic

The conventional challenge of sustainability and safety in the packaging industry has become a thing of the past! Until now, natural fibre-based packaging solutions for demanding applications only achieved sufficient packaging- and food-safety with the help of coating materials such as polyethylene (PE) or bio-PE.

In terms of water stability and food safety, the innovative coating solution NP® SiOPack® achieves the same values on paper packaging as PE-coating does, but as a natural-based product it can be completely returned to the natural cycle. The multi-award-winning solution from Nanopool thus succeeds in resolving the supposed contradiction between environmental friendliness and product safety.

Technologically sophisticated application for cardboard packaging

For the technical implementation, Nanopool found the ideal support in Van Genechten Packaging (VGP), the pioneer for sustainable coatings. The European manufacturer of cardboard packaging, headquartered in Belgium with a particular expertise in food packaging, has been working on new sustainable solutions and technologies for years. Together with its experts, the company developed the mechanical realisation of the coating of cardboard packaging for industrial production. In practical application at VGP, the material is coated with NP® SiOPack® and can then be further processed for any packaging application without any problems.

“Excellent, more sustainable technology”

The special relevance of this environmentally friendly coating for food packaging has also been recognized by this year’s Green Product Awards jury, who described NP® SiOPack® as “an excellent, more sustainable technology for paper and disposable products” that also makes it easy for consumers to intuitively recognize that packaging with this natural coating is recyclable and compostable. The ultra-thin barrier is neither visible nor tangible to the naked senses, which is why packaging made of paper, cardboard or other natural fibres treated with NP® SiOPack®, unlike PE-coated products, is visually and haptically indistinguishable from the untreated raw material. The effect of NP® SiOPack® coating, however, is clearly visible: Absorbent natural materials become reliably repellent to water, oil and grease, dirt and even germs. This creates safe packaging for dairy products, liquids, frozen products, soaps and detergents and many more, which can simply be disposed of with waste paper after use and does not pollute nature even when the human factor intervenes and packaging is improperly thrown into the forest.  

Fast feasibility for packaging manufacturers

The fact that coating with NP® SiOPack® can be integrated into existing production processes for packaging manufacturers both on the finished packaging product and during industrial production makes the barrier coating a viable solution that is being positively received by customers who are becoming increasingly aware of sustainability. This practical relevance was one of the points that the experienced jury of the Green Product Award rated as particularly positive.

Together for the goal of sustainability

Since 2013, the international Green Product Award in cooperation with the IKEA Foundation has been honouring solutions that stand out in terms of design, innovation and sustainability. In 2022, over 1,500 projects from 56 countries were submitted in 13 categories. In the context of the newly founded Green Future Club, this year will also see an expanded networking of the award’s sponsors.

“The collaboration of committed innovators is the key to a greener future,” says Sascha Schwindt, CEO of Nanopool GmbH. “I believe that only together we can create a world where the oceans are filled with fish and not with rubbish. And that is the future I want for my children.”

“We are pleased that through the cooperation between Nanopool and Van Genechten Packaging we can make a further contribution to protecting the environment, especially in terms of food safety, for which it has not yet been possible to completely dispense with the classic barriers,” adds Marc Büttgenbach, CCO and Chief Sales Officer, Van Genechten Packaging.

For further questions on the wide range of applications of the NP® protective coating, please contact the company based in Schwalbach/Germany: d.schwindt@nanopool.eu (Mr Dieter Schwindt)

About the company:

nanopool® GmbH, based in Hülzweiler, is an innovative family business. Since 2002, it has been among the companies involved in nanotechnology in the field of surface finishing.

nanopool® has succeeded in developing a surface coating for almost all areas of application. This innovation will positively change working life in many different directions.

All nanopool® products are based on the latest scientific findings in nanotechnological research. The mode of action of the food-safe products, which have been honoured with environmental awards, has been tested by recognised research laboratories and documented with certificates.

Find more information online:

https://www.siopack.eu/