ReTAPP · Re-Think All Plastic Packaging

The ReTAPP project aims at producing wood-based fructose for production of plastic bottles and all plastic packaging. The ReTAPP project will generate fructose from wood to commercial process as a replacement for food/starch based fructose. The fructose is further converted to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) – a chemical that can be used to produce a biobased polymer, Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF). Ultimately, ReTAPP will make it possible to make the plastics from wood – a solution not just sustainable and 100% renewable, but also technically and economically superior to the technologies and materials used today. In ReTAPP, the consortium will improve the processes through enzymatic solutions to positively impact quality, performance and economics: In the end, the wood-based fructose must be better than food-based fructose for further in chemical conversion in industrial scale. Even more importantly, the overall process, including but not limited to the fructose conversion, is also made economically more sustainable than the petroleum or the food-based solutions. Ultimately, the 100% renewable packaging is more affordable and has better qualities, such as barrier properties, than the most common thermoplastic resin: polyethylene terephthalate (PET).ReTAPP enables the collaboration between consortium members to address the entire value-chain and achieve objectives none of the companies could achieve alone. European competitive advantage can be found in strength of collaboration between masters of their field, such as MetGen, SEKAB and Avantium.