Press release of the nova-Institut GmbH (www.nova-institut.de) Hürth, Germany, 6th of May 2010

Proganic® is the bio-based material of the year 2010!

The company Propper GmbH is using the bio-based plastic PHA in consumer goods for the first time worldwide. Hundred experts on bio-based materials voted for the winners of the competition "Bio-based Material of the Year" at the 3rd International Congress on Bio-based Plastics and Composites at the HANNOVER MESSE. The Innovation Award was presented for the third time by the nova-Institut and sponsored by the machine manufacturer Coperion.

The coveted 1st place was won by the company Propper GmbH from Bavaria for their material Proganic®, which is used in the manufacture of consumer goods such as watering cans, plant pots, egg-cups and spoons. The particular speciality of the material Proganic® is the fact that it is  made primarily of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), Carnauba Wax and natural mineral filler. PHA is is produced by bacteria from starch or sugar. The company Propper is using this bio-based plastic worldwide for the first time in a series of consumer goods. In co-operation with other companies, many other products are planned.

The second place went to GreenGran B.V. from the Netherlands for their material GreenGran, which is produced in a joint venture in China. It is a natural fibre reinforced plastic for injection moulded applications.  Different bast fibres such as jute, flax or hemp are applied and as matrix, polypropylene or bio-based plastics such as PLA are used. An example of its application is its use in the French market in the universal charging device "BioCharger", which is made of jute reinforced Polypropylene. The speciality of GreenGran's material is its technical properties, which reach the values of glass fibre reinforced plastics in terms of strength and stiffness, while showing a lower density.


Henkel AG & Co. KGaA took third place with its PLA-based material, "Arctic", from which office supplies will shortly be produced. In Hanover the Arctic material was presented in its application in the "Pritt ECOmfort Correction Roller". It is a significant step that a global player is using bio-based plastics in one of its brand products.

All three awardees attest to the fast development of bio-based plastics and composites. Whereas the area of bioplastics was particularly dominated by short-life applications in the packaging industry, where the biodegradability was the focus, the bio-based plastics and composites of our three winners are used in durable applications. The focus is now on "bio-based", and biodegradability remains only one possible end-of-life option.

Those who missed the „3rd Biowerkstoff-Kongress - International Congress on Bio-based Plastics and Composites“ can purchase approximately 20 of the presentations from the leading companies in this field. (DuPont, Ford, Innovia Films, Johnson Controls Interior, NatureWorks, Novozymes, PURAC Biochem, Werzalit) in the nova-Shop ( www.nova-shop.info ) from the middle of May for €100.00 plus 19% VAT.

For further information on the awardees, pictures of the products and the award ceremony please find at
http://www.nova-institut.de/downloads/10-05-06_BWK_Pictures.zip (rights are reserved to the named companies, released for press publication). 

In the picture of the award ceremony, from left to right:
Martin Snijder (GreenGran), Michael Carus (nova-Institut), Daniel Ridge (Propper), Peter von Hoffmann (Coperion), Oliver Schmid (Propper), Peter Rushe (Henkel), Carolin Wiegand (Henkel)

Author and person responsible according to the German Press Law
Dipl.-Phys. Michael Carus, CEo of the
nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH
Chemiepark Knapsack
Industriestraße
D-50354 Hürth
www.nova-institut.de
Tel.: +49 (0)2233-48 14 40

Please direct requests to:
Lena Scholz: lena.scholz@nova-institut.de