Polymers-5B

To make an alternative to fossil-based plastics, Polymers-5B aims to:

• Select bio-renewable monomers extracted from tomato, olive oil, and wood pulp biowaste and develop optimised and sustainable extraction processes, using AI-driven simulations and safe-and-sustainable-by design methodologies.
• Simulate polymer properties and design to produce the most promising polymers at a pilot scale through optimised polymerisation processes.
• Test and validate the replacement of fossil-based polymers with the selected bio-based polymeric prototypes in key products and materials for the textile, automotive, furniture, and polymeric resin sectors.
• Make the environmental assessment of the integrated Polymers-5B processes, to achieve a 50% reduction in energy consumption and GHG emissions when compared to their fossil-based alternatives.
• Share the project results with wide audiences to drive the demand for sustainable bio-based and biodegradable polymers and derived plastic materials.  

Polymers-5B’s expected impacts include:

• Boosting the alternative bio-based polymer and plastic materials production in the EU by unlocking new application areas and making available a broader range of market-ready products based on bio-based plastic.
• Advancing multi-disciplinary research and integration of AI in the bio-based plastics sector.
• Supporting the EU’s environmental targets, in particular those of the European Green Deal, by fostering resource efficiency and circularity, and halving energy consumption and GHG emissions in bio-based polymers synthesis processes.