Raising the Bar in Plastic Food Packaging
Haydale, (AIM: HAYD), the global advanced materials group, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding of £168,573 to develop high barrier monolayer films for food packaging by Innovate UK, the UK's innovation agency.
Haydale Composite Solutions Ltd ('HCS'), will lead the consortium of nine companies - BASF, Bangor University, Cambridge Nanomaterials Technologies, Dunbia, Fre-Energy, Parkside Flexibles, Recycling Technologies, and Wells Plastics - to develop the next generation of high barrier films for food packaging using functionalised nanomaterials ("HiBarFilm2 Project"). The HiBarFilm2 Project is due to start in March 2022 and is expected to run for 30 months. It follows the success of the HiBarFilm feasibility study where functionalised nanomaterials were shown to influence barrier performance in films.
While the currently used multilayer flexible films increase the shelf life of products, the biggest challenge faced to date is their recyclability. Often made up of between three and twelve layers of different plastics, they are difficult to recycle and affect the quality and value of the recycle streams. Consequently, they are commonly incinerated or end up in landfill.
The HiBarFilm2 Project will exploit the impermeable properties of pure graphene and other advanced materials using Haydale's patented HDPlas® functionalisation process to either increase the hydrophobicity of the materials to improve moisture repellence or improve the interaction between the nanomaterial and host resin to promote improved cohesion and barrier performance.
The funded project will focus on using HDPlas® functionalised barrier additives in two main areas: firstly, by mixing the additives directly into the plastic prior to filming, and secondly, by dispersing the additives into a barrier coating that can be applied to the plastic substrates.
Both polyolefin films and compostable plastics will be used with the two solutions being combined to increase the barrier performance further and not affect the recyclability. The application will also address the issue with contamination of films with food waste such as fats and blood by providing a compostable plastics solution.
The aim of the HiBarFilm2 project is to enable the redesign of multilayer flexible films into 100% recyclable and compostable mono-material solutions for the food industry.
Keith Broadbent, CEO at Haydale, commented; "Previous work as part of the HiBarFilm feasibility study demonstrated that Haydale's plasma functionalised nanomaterials can be used to influence barrier performance in films. We are pleased to be leading the next stage project to further develop nanomaterial-enhanced coatings that will be a first in food contact applications, which could change the face of food packaging for the future and offer sustainable consumer solutions."
IIP In the news , still at bit cheap though
London’s AIM Index has succeeded in outperforming the main board on Monday, tacking on almost seven points to reach the closing bell at 1036.93.
- Infrastructure India +43%
- Proton Motors +32%
- ITM Power +18%
- Made Tech -46%
- Eurasia Mining -30%
Infrastructure India [LON:IIP] was the day’s biggest gainer, adding 43% by the bell. Shares in the company jumped off the back of news it was set to make a series of asset disposals, although last month it was left to caution investors that it was set to run out of funds. Today’s move helps recoup the recent losses accrued by the stock but with today’s news still being conditional, this remains a challenging play.
Proton Motors [LON:PPS] was the day’s second biggest riser, adding 32% in a buoyant day of trade. The alternative energy sector is certainly finding favour as the spike in fossil fuel prices, the need to reduce emissions and obviously the glaring point over energy security all come into focus at the same time. It is however worth noting again that Proton has had a poor start to the year, so longer term investors likely have less to cheer here.
More of the same with ITM Power [LON:ITM] getting the notable mention today. Again the company’s stock has been under pressure having traded close to 700p at the start of last year, but today’s 18% gains take the rally since late last week to an impressive 50%. Can momentum across the sector be sustained however without news of policy change or government support?
At the other end of the table, it’s Made Tech [LON:MTEC] which is the day’s laggard. Despite an upbeat set of interims – which were admittedly caveated with a comment about an expected modest financial impact at the end of the coming year – and news of a new NHS contract win, shares slipped a further 46%, to trade at around one third of the IPO price from last year.
Eurasia Mining [LON:EUA] also struggled, off 30% at the close. The stock bounced at the end of last week, but opened sharply lower this morning amidst uncertainty over the resource company’s position in light of the sustained Russian invasion of Ukraine. With this situation showing no signs of a quick resolution, investors could be left in limbo for a while longer yet.
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