Emerging Technologies

  • AFYREN receives €3 million grant to upgrade biorefinery for biobased acids

  • Industry backs updated legislation supporting competitive EU biomanufacturing

  • Draft bill exempts compostables and biodegradables from PPWR’s SUP ban

  • MIT uses AI to simulate shipments between warehouses in logistics network

  • Our guide to the fibre-based packaging market in 2026

  • Submissions are open for the Sustainability Awards 2026!

  • Cost parity between European recyclers and virgin production to take ‘decades’

  • Coalition unites to ‘modernize’ plastic recycling systems in America

  • One week until the Sustainable Packaging Summit: what to expect

Emerging Technologies

  • PE_AFYREN_NEOXY

    AFYREN receives €3 million grant to upgrade biorefinery for biobased acids

    2026-04-24T09:31:00+01:00

    With a €3 million grant from the Grand Est Region, AFYREN will finance performance investments at its AFYREN NEOXY biorefinery, which produces biobased carboxylic acids.

  • PE_EU_Flags (17)

    Industry backs updated legislation supporting competitive EU biomanufacturing

    2026-04-08T10:06:00+01:00

    Almost 40 industry organizations have signed a joint position paper calling for policymakers to boost competitiveness, resilience, and employment in European biomanufacturing with the EU Biotech Act II.

  • PE_Italian_Flag

    Draft bill exempts compostables and biodegradables from PPWR’s SUP ban

    2026-04-08T07:47:00+01:00

    The Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) has presented a draft legislative proposal to exempt biodegradable and compostable formats from the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s bans on single-use plastic packaging, with European Bioplastics (EUBP) describing the measure as “positive and pragmatic”.

  • PE_MIT_Genesis

    MIT uses AI to simulate shipments between warehouses in logistics network

    2026-03-10T11:46:00+00:00

    The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Mecalux have created an AI-based simulator for warehouses in a logistics network, aiming to optimize inventory and transport at minimal cost without incurring stockouts.

  • shutterstock_2216555443-2

    Our guide to the fibre-based packaging market in 2026

    2026-02-05T11:42:00+00:00

    In the last year or so, we have seen increased investments in companies producing fibre-based packaging - from Yangi securing €10 million in funding to scale its dry forming technology to Fiberdom receiving €3.5 million for its compostable paperboard material. What are the main drivers behind these investments and what kind of projects are receiving this support? We explore these questions in this edition of the Brief.