SA interview AD

With the Sustainability Awards taking place next week, we asked finalist Avery Dennison about its entry, a battery created with BeFC (Bioenzymatic Fuel Cells) made from paper, carbon and enzymes and nominated in the Pre-Commercialized Renewables category.

You’re a finalist in the Sustainability Awards 2024. Congratulations! To start off, could you summarize your entry, in less than 50 words?

Through the AD Stretch accelerator program, the Avery Dennison Materials Group has supported BeFC in creating a biofuel cell made from paper, carbon, and enzymes that converts sugars and oxygen into electricity, providing data opportunities without downsides of battery disposal.

Why do you think the judges were impressed with your entry? Tell us about what is innovative about your project and/or about its impact on packaging sustainability.

Each year, 15 billion primary batteries are disposed of, with 97% of miniature batteries ending up in landfills or incinerated. BeFC offers a sustainable alternative to traditional coin and button cell batteries, which are often non-disposable and harmful to the environment.

The BeFC solution is a thin, flexible, lightweight, and low-cost energy device made from organic materials like cellulose, carbon, enzymes, and sugar. This avoids the use of rare-earth metals and toxic electrolytes found in traditional batteries. Avery Dennison Materials Group helped select suitable bonding materials for these biofuel cells, ensuring they are compostable or recyclable.

BeFC tested various Avery Dennison paper-based materials to find options that offer water and grease resistance, oxygen permeability, and strong bonding. This keeps enzymes encapsulated, enhancing the biofuel cell’s longevity.

With improvements in enzyme manufacturing, this technology paves the way for low-cost, eco-friendly microelectronic solutions in areas like pharmaceutical logistics, wearable health patches, point-of-care medical tests, and smart consumer labels. This innovation reduces environmental impact and supports the development of sustainable Internet of Things (IoT) devices at scale.

Finally, can you tell us about the ongoing development of your project, e.g. how your innovation/initiative has been received by the industry, or what the next steps are in commercialization/product development?

Avery Dennison continues to support BeFc in scaling up their technology to prepare for commercialization that will take place in Q4 2024. Multiple end customers across several industries have been conducting successful POC and pilots over the past months and are ready to deploy the technology.

For more information visit the BeFC website, the Avery Dennison website or take a look at the AD Stretch accelerator programme.

The winners of the Sustainability Awards 2024 will be announced at the Sustainable Packaging Summit, taking place in Amsterdam on 12-13 November. The Summit mobilizes leaders of the FMCG value chain, policymakers, NGOs, recyclers and investors to collaborate, remove barriers and identify opportunities on the road to sustainable transformation.

To learn more or register, visit: https://www.packagingsummit.earth/2024

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