Paptic

Plastics made from crude oil have a considerable carbon footprint as well as globally significant negative environmental impacts as plastic waste often ends up in polluting the environment. The demand for plastics has been estimated to double or even quadruple by 2050 – which makes developing alternative materials so important.

Paptic, known for its wood fibre-based packaging materials, is working on a new technology to enable the production of more environmentally friendly flexible packaging materials. Packaging materials produced using its innovative foam manufacturing technology have the potential to replace LDPE, a plastic used to package, for example, hygiene and food products. The funding helps Paptic to ramp up the development process and accelerate the deployment of its foam manufacturing technology on an industrial scale.

The Climate Fund’s investment decisions are guided by a set of criteria emphasising impact, against which every case applying for funding from the company is evaluated. Preconditions for funding include a credible plan for repayment of the investment, alignment with the six environmental objectives of the EU’s sustainable investment network, i.e. the “do no significant harm” principle, and that with Climate Fund’s investment the project will be realised earlier, on a larger scale or in the first place. When the preconditions are met, the final selection will be made based on impact criteria, such as emissions reduction potential.

Paptic’s emissions-reduction potential is based on the emissions associated with packaging material produced by means of foam manufacturing compared to the fossil plastics that the technology replaces. The emissions reduction is thanks to not just the raw material but also the use of renewable energy to make the material and the lower energy consumption of the process. The cumulative ten-year emissions-reduction potential of the solution is estimated at approximately 0.4 million tonnes of CO₂-eq, subject to successful execution of the client’s business plan. Taking emissions from incineration at the end of the product’s life cycle into account would more than double the solution’s emissions-reduction potential.

The Finnish Climate Fund’s capital loan of up to EUR 10 million is to deploy Paptic’s patented foam manufacturing technology on an industrial scale. The Finnish Climate Fund’s capital loan is priced at market terms and includes a profit-sharing component. The funding is designed to accelerate the commercial launch of Paptic’s solution for replacing fossil-based plastics. The solution is based on renewable raw materials and energy sourced primarily in Finland, which means that it also supports the development of Finnish bio-based industry.