Smart Planet Technologies has announced its HyperBarrier PE film, said to deliver ‘300 times’ the oxygen barrier performance of standard PE film and be recyclable in the PE stream under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).
The company says the film is produced using an advanced nanoclay nanocomposite technology, with 4% nanoclay qualifying the film as recyclable in the PE stream in Europe under RecyClass guidelines. The HyperBarrier film can be configured as a single LDPE-based monolayer or as a three-layer coextrusion depending on the application. Smart Planet Technologies states that both structures qualify as PE mono-material for recycling purposes.
The film is also said to provide 3 to 5 times better moisture barrier performance compared to standard PE under humid conditions where EVOH-based structures are known to degrade, asl well as sufficient grease barrier properties for fried food applications and full heat-seal functionality. Apparently, it can run on existing extrusion equipment without modification, eliminate tie layers and laminations and maintains its barrier properties after folding, creasing, and high-speed converting.
According to Smart Planet Technologies, cost savings compared to multilayer laminates are estimated at 25% to 60%, depending on the application. European commercialization partners include Nova Chemicals (part of Borouge International), Colloids in the United Kingdom, and Vilkritis in Lithuania. The cast film is in final production trials with availability expected by August 2026, and blown film is also in development.
Last year the company’s HyperBarrier coated paper-based sausage flow-wrap application, commercialized by Copar, was a finalist in Packaging Europe’s 2025 Sustainability Awards. The solution aims to deliver superior moisture, oxygen and grease protection while remaining affordable, scalable and sustainable for diverse commercial food packaging applications.
In March Amcor partnered with plant care company DCM on a ‘recycle-ready’ mono-material polyethylene (PE) film for its European fertilizer portfolio, incorporating 35% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content and said to reduce its carbon footprint by 17%. The new material is available in sizes ranging from 650 grams to 7 kilograms.
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