Fraunhofer Conference: "FUTURAS IN RES"

Press release /

Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, underlined today at the Fraunhofer conference „FUTURAS IN RES“ the importance of using natural resources that do not compete with food production. We could not agree more!

Therefore, the department Biogenic Systems of the Fraunhofer Project Group IWKS is working on bio-based and biodegradable coatings for foils and packaging in order to make them more sustainable and compostable. For example, the scientists are using apple pomace – a waste product from producing pectin or juice. The key: The starting material does not compete with food production and, as a waste product, is particularly cost effective. This way, the lacquer is not only made soluble in water and at the same time biodegradable, but also helps in making biodegradable plastics more tear-resistant.

The possibilities are far from being exhausted and the need for further, application-oriented research is huge. Further information can be found here.