Swedish chemicals company Nexam Chemical and its partner Verdofoam have developed a process to produce expanded bioplastic foam suitable for common packaging and insulation applications.

The advance centres on Nexam’s additive technology, which enables expansion of bio-based plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA).

Expanding PLA has previously been described as a technical challenge. The new method produces a lightweight, shock-absorbing foam with properties comparable to fossil-based packaging foams.

The material can be used in applications that today typically rely on expanded polystyrene (EPS), including the loose beads used to fill voids in e-commerce parcels.

Global use of EPS in packaging is estimated at around 5.8 million tonnes per year.

Using commonly applied emission factors of between three and five tonnes per tonne of material, that volume corresponds to around 18 to 30 million tonnes of CO₂e ([carbon dioxide equivalent] annually.

Nexam and Verdofoam stsate that substituting parts of this EPS volume with bio-based alternatives could reduce dependence on fossil raw materials and lower climate impact.

The companies highlight potential applications in both packaging and insulation markets based on renewable feedstocks.

Verdofoam CEO Hans-Erik Ouwehand stated: “With the help of Nexam Chemicals additives, we have now succeeded in producing a completely bio-based foam with the right structure and properties.”

Nexam CEO Ronnie Törnqvist stated: “This is a clear breakthrough. Being able to create bio-based foam (PLA foam) opens up an entirely new market for us. We are demonstrating concretely how our technology can help reduce the climate footprint of plastics without compromising performance or functionality.”