Materials and technologies – April 2025

Number of EU patents for packaging material increased by 255 since March 2024
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that they received 199,264 patent applications in 2024, 0.1% less than in 2023. You can read more in the online EPO Patent Index 2024. The European patent register holds 3,346 patents with the search term ‘packaging material’ (search done by NVC on 4 April 2025). This is an increase of 255 in a years’ time. On 19 March 2024 NVC did the same search and that resulted in 3,091 patents.

NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management – research
On 17 April 2025, Cristina Ortiz Avila held a presentation entitled ‘Analyzing the effect of post-consumer recycled related gels on sealing and printing in flexible polyethylene packaging’’ as part of her master assignment at the University of Twente. Chairman of the assessment committee was prof. Roland ten Klooster who holds the NVC Chair Packaging Design and Management.

Improving recycling with artificial intelligence
Researchers at TU Delft are utilising machine learning to enhance the recyclability of polymers. By analysing extensive datasets of polymer properties and structures, their algorithms identify patterns and predict how modifications can improve recyclability without compromising material performance. This approach accelerates the discovery of new and recyclable polymers. The study (3.61 MB) is published in Advanced Science.
Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy conducted a study using AI-powered vision systems to analyse polypropylene (PP) in the recycling stream. The study revealed that over 75% of the PP captured was clear or white and predominantly food-grade. These findings highlight the potential to meet the increasing demand for recycled food-grade PP by improving sorting and recovery processes. You can download the report after filling in your details.

Innovative packaging materials from food waste and plants
KAIST researchers introduce synthetic pathways to enable Escherichia coli (E. coli) to convert biomass-derived glucose into nine different plastics. The process achieved high efficiency, showcasing its industrial potential. The study (abstract) is published in Nature Chemical Biology.
Scientists from the University of Ottawa are exploring gum tragacanth, a substance from certain legumes, as a plant-based alternative to animal-derived gelatine in edible films. Their study (abstract), published in Physics of Fluids by AIP publishing, indicates that partial substitution is possible, reducing use of animal-based compounds.
A method to transform spent coffee grounds into biodegradable food packaging materials has been developed at Oregon State University. Future plans include scaling up the process for commercial applications, potentially creating packaging solutions such as sheets for sliced cheese and pads for fresh meat and produce. The study (abstract) is published in the Journal of Food Science.
Researchers from the University of Alicante have developed a method to produce bioplastics using sugar-rich waste from the sweets industry. Papers on this research are published in Bioengineering (2.96 MB) and Current Research in Biotechnology (776 kB).

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