Issue 03/2016

Events
From resin to retail
Biopolymers world gathers at Innovation Takes Root
For three days at the end of March, Orlando, Florida
was the stomping ground for anyone and everyone
in any way involved in biopolymers, and especially
in NatureWorks’ Ingeo PLA. The three-day Innovation
Takes Root event was hosted this year for the fifth time
by NatureWorks and consisted of one day of workshops
followed by two days of actual conference during which
the latest developments in the biopolymers market
were examined against the backdrop of the broader
policy, legislative, and societal perspective.
One of the issues that came up, not once but several
times, was that of the challenges bioplastics were facing
in the current era of low oil (prices). Yet the general
feeling was – and nobody expressed this more forcefully
or coherently than NatureWorks CEO Marc Verbruggen
in his closing speech – that despite the abundance of
bleak headlines, the outlook is not all that somber.
“Oil’s been at this level before,” Verbruggen pointed
out. “It was at this level when we started out. And
the economics of NatureWorks function in this
environment.”
As long as the corn price stays low, that is. “The
sugar to polymer yield – currently 1.25 kg of sugar to
produce 1 kg of PLA – determines how cost competitive
you can be,” added Verbruggen. Because corn is cheap,
NatureWorks can compete at an oil price of USD35 a
barrel, although he also conceded that achieving a
sufficient economy of scale has been a critical factor.
“When we started, we built a huge plant. Looking back,
if our shareholders had known what they were going
to encounter, I question whether they would have
pressed ahead. There’s been a steep learning curve,”
Verbruggen said.
However, as became evident over the course of these
three days that, far from fading into oblivion, bioplastics
are coming increasingly into their own. Obviously, at this
conference PLA in all its facets was the main focus: as
a raw material used for compostable serviceware or
packaging, blended with PHA, in fibers for nonwovens
and as 3D printing filaments, all of which were topics
discussed in the presentations held by the 43 speakers
at the conference.
At the plenary sessions, speakers from WWF, IKEA,
Nestlé, the Green Sports Alliance and many others
addressed the use of bioplastics within the wider context
of sustainability, public engagement and responsible
stewardship. As Per Stolz, sustainability director at
IKEA, said: “IKEA is big – we have impact. And with size,
comes responsibility.” Or Justin Zellner, of the Green
Sports Alliance, a movement that leverages sports as a
means for environmental advocacy, who talked about the
huge impact on supply chain economics which sports
have – in addition to an “unbelievable visibility” – and
the opportunities this offers, not only for greening the
supply chain, but also for greening operations and for fan
engagement in program initiatives. “Using compostable
serviceware, composting food waste,” he said. “We can
inspire them to do this at home, as well.” Erin Simon, of
WWF summarized it well: “Together we can!”
The plenary sessions were followed by a program of
parallel market-focused sessions centered on topics
including single serve beverage delivery systems;
new developments in NatureWorks’ Ingeo flexible
packaging; advancements in dairy, dessert and chilled
snack packaging; food serviceware; new horizons for
Ingeo in 3D printing; and Ingeo fibers and nonwovens
advancements. One of the keynote speakers was Jen
Owen, whose presentation on the use of 3D printing
technology to provide hands to children unable to afford
prostheses, offered a visceral demonstration of the
opportunities this new technology presents. (See cover
story on pp 14).
Marc Verbruggen also zeroed in on the developments
in 3D printing technology in his closing presentation,
pointing put that additive manufacturing or 3D printing
with Ingeo PLA is one of the fastest growing markets for
this biopolymer. “It’s an exciting area. Two conferences
ago, it was just emerging,” he said. “One conference
ago, we recognized that it was a theme. And now, at
ITR 2016, we’ve not only got a full-fledged 3D printing
platform on the market – a range of purpose-developed
filament, with full suite technical support and an inhouse
development lab - we’re now also announcing
the launch of a new grade that can compete directly
with ABS.”
He also discussed the company’s aim is to have a
methane to lactic acid pilot plant in place within another
three to six years, projecting that the monetization
of carbon will be achieved over the next five years.
“Methane is a true game changer,” he explained.
“Cellulosic feedstock – if that’s what you’ve got, use it.
But sugar from cellulosics is a long, hard and expensive
process. Is it helpful to use plants?” he asked. “Why not
forget the intermediates? Not using plants solves a lot.”
He continued, pointing out that “you could never be
too cost competitive”.
“As a company we have to make money. Sugar from
methane costs 0.02 cents a pound. From corn, it’s
14 cents and sugar, 15 cents a pound,” he stressed.
Another key development at NatureWorks has been
the ongoing process of further diversifying, not just
12 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/16] Vol. 11