The EU-funded BioSupPack project successfully demonstrated that brewery waste can be transformed into high-performance bioplastics for sustainable packaging. Over five years, the consortium has developed and validated innovative polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA and PHB) materials and production processes that offer viable alternatives to fossil-based plastics while supporting compliance with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.

At a demonstrative scale and in real operational environments, BioSupPack developed and validated key innovations that address critical challenges in the packaging industry: 

• Biorefinery process for PHB production from brewery spent grains: BioSupPack has developed a scalable bioprocess that efficiently converts brewery spent grains into high-purity PHB through an innovative plasma pretreatment and microbial fermentation. 
• PHA-based coating formulations and compostable fibre-based packaging: BioSupPack has developed PHA plastisol coatings that are 99% biobased and fully biodegradable. These coatings can be applied to paperboard as alternatives to PE coatings, as well as to textiles as replacements for PVC.
• Compostable fibre-based packaging: The consortium has created industrially compostable, fibre-based packaging with barrier properties comparable to fossil-based plastics. 
• PHB-Based formulations for rigid packaging: SABIOMATERIALS has developed PHB-based materials optimised for rigid packaging applications such as bottles and displays for retail applications. The materials are produced from renewable waste streams, are fully biodegradable and both mechanically and enzymatically recyclable.