Hülzweiler, June 2022
At a festive award ceremony in Munich, the Green Product Awards were once again presented to products and services that stand out in terms of design, innovation and sustainability. The prize 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 content
The long-standing challenge of combining sustainability and safety in the packaging industry is a thing of the past! Until now, natural-fibre-based packaging solutions could only achieve sufficient packaging and food safety in demanding applications with the help of coating materials such as polyethylene (PE) or bio-PE.
Coating with the innovative solution NP® SiOPack®, for example, achieves the same values in terms of water stability and food safety on cardboard packaging as a PE coating, but as a nature-based product it can be fully 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 of sustainable coatings. The European manufacturer of cardboard packaging, headquartered in Belgium, has particular expertise in food packaging and has been working on new sustainable solutions and technologies for years. Together with its experts, the company developed the machine-based implementation 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 easily processed further for any packaging application.
“An excellent, more sustainable technology”
This year’s jury of the Green Product Award also recognised the particular relevance of this environmentally compatible coating for food packaging, describing NP® SiOPack® as “an excellent, more sustainable technology for paper and disposable products” that also makes it easy for consumers to intuitively recognise 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, cannot be distinguished visually or haptically from the untreated raw material. The effect of the NP® SiOPack® finish, however, is clearly recognisable: absorbent natural materials become reliably repellent to water, oil and grease, dirt and even germs. The result is safe packaging for dairy products, liquids, frozen products, soaps and detergents and much more, which can simply be disposed of with waste paper after use and does not burden nature even when the human factor strikes and someone improperly discards their packaging in the woods.
Quick implementation 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 practical solution that is being positively received by customers who are increasingly aware of sustainability. This practical relevance was one of the points that the experienced jury of the Green Product Award rated particularly positively.
Together towards the goal of sustainability
Since 2013, the international Green Product Award, in cooperation with the IKEA Foundation, has been honouring solutions that stand out particularly in terms of design, innovation and sustainability. In 2022, over 1,500 projects from 56 countries were submitted in 13 categories. As part of the newly founded Green Future Club, this year will also see expanded networking among award winners.
“The collaboration of committed innovators is the key to a greener future,” says Sascha Schwindt, Managing Director of Nanopool GmbH. “I believe that only together can we shape a world in which the oceans are filled with fish and not with rubbish. And that is the future I wish for my children.”
“We are delighted that the cooperation between Nanopool and Van Genechten Packaging allows us to make a further contribution to protecting the environment, especially in terms of food safety, where it has not previously been possible to completely dispense with the classic barriers,” adds Marc Büttgenbach, CCO and Sales Director, Van Genechten Packaging.
For further questions about the wide range of possible applications of the NP® protective coating, the company based in Schwalbach/Germany will be happy to assist: d.schwindt@nanopool.eu (Mr Dieter Schwindt)
About the company:
nanopool® GmbH, based in Hülzweiler, is an innovative family-owned company. Since 2002, it has been one of the companies working with nanotechnology in the field of surface finishing.
nanopool® has succeeded in developing a surface finish for almost all areas of application. This innovation will positively change working life in a wide variety of ways.
All nanopool® products are based on the latest scientific findings in nanotechnological research. The effectiveness of the food-safe products, which have received an environmental award, has been tested by recognised research laboratories and confirmed with certificates.
Further information and a video can be found at:
https://www.siopack.eu/