TotalEnergies and Intraplás partner on food-grade renewable biopolymer production

31 Jan 2023 --- TotalEnergies is joining forces with Portuguese packaging player Intraplás to create commercial products with TotalEnergies RE:newable polymer – a range of the RE:clic portfolio, which uses renewable sources to lower carbon footprint.

TotalEnergies’ biorefinery in La Mède, France, allows direct access to renewable feedstock for its drop-in RE:newable polymer range derived from bio-based products. The company claims these polymers retain virgin-like properties.

RE:newable polymers are warranted under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC Plus) scheme, which uses a mass balance approach.

“Our RE:newable range is essential in achieving TotalEnergies’ ambition to produce 30% circular polymers by 2030. Our leading position as an integrated player on the market enables TotalEnergies to provide its customers with low-carbon, drop-in polymers from renewable sources in industrial quantities, says Olivier Greiner, vice president of Polymers Europe and Orient at TotalEnergies.

“This collaboration with our long-term partner Intraplás is another important milestone. Innovation is increasingly critical for companies to distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive market."

TotalEnergies aims to achieve 30% circular polymers by 2030.Virgin qualities?
TotalEnergies uses a mass balance approach, defined as determining the mass fraction of a high-purity organic material’s main component. The RE:newable range exhibits virgin-like properties.

The approach also makes the range suitable for high-end, demanding applications, claims the company.

“If innovating is essential to create value, the sustainability of an innovative product is the best basis for responding to socio-environmental challenges. It is our commitment to offering the market more eco-friendly packaging solutions. We are increasingly investing in the incorporation of materials from renewable sources without compromising food safety, consumer well-being, and product performance,” says Marisa Alves, chief procurement officer of Intraplás.

As the converter’s facilities are ISCC PLUS certified, which facilitates traceability from the material production to the final application, Intraplás can provide high-performing, low-carbon, fossil-free products to its customers that need sustainable solutions in food packaging.

“This collaboration with our partner TotalEnergies is in line with our goals to reduce our carbon footprint, and provide more sustainable packaging solutions to our customers, consumers and contribute to a better world," said Marisa Alves, Chief Procurement Officer of Intraplás,” concludes Alves.

TotalEnergies releases
The RE:newable products are part of a range released by TotalEnergies last year, including RE:use and RE:build. The former contains recycled plastic obtained through a mechanical recycling process. It is derived from post-consumer and post-industrial plastic wastes. At the same time, the latter is produced through an advanced recycling process that converts hard-to-recycle plastic waste into circular feedstock.

“The products associated with these new ranges are concrete solutions to help us reach our ambition of commercializing 30% circular polymers by 2030,” said Nathalie Brunelle, vice president of polymers at TotalEnergies.

This year, TotalEnergies joined the Nextloopp initiative to use its RE-Use to advance the production of food-grade recycled PP.

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton

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