Floreon, a technology spun off from research at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, has won the 2024 Innovation in Bioplastics Award.
The Plastics Industry Association honored Floreon for its Therma-Tech halogen-free, fire-resistant polylactic acid-based compound, the world’s first bioplastic to achieve UL94V-0 flammability certification. The material is an alternative to flame retardant oil-based acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The PLA compound offers a safe and sustainable option for electrical goods. Derived from plants, it is suitable for chemical and mechanical recycling and has an up to seven times lower carbon footprint than oil-based plastic.
“Innovation is about providing people with more options, not less,” said Patrick Krieger, vice president of sustainability at the association. “Floreon Therma-Tech offers companies that want to use bio-based materials in durable applications, like building and construction, with sustainable attributes from beginning to end of life.”
The award recognizes one outstanding innovation in unique and creative applications of bioplastics materials, products, or manufacturing processes by a company based in or outside the United States. Applications are judged based on three categories: innovation, environmental impact and market impact.
“2024 is our year, said Floreon CEO Sandrine Garnier. "We’ve scaled up three products: Floreon Therma-Tech, Dura-Tech and Bio-Tech, brought new talent onboard and successfully launched our first commercial application. Being recognized by our peers in the bioplastics space highlights that the industry shares our excitement for the technology’s far-reaching potential,” she added.
Previous Innovation in Bioplastics Award winners include Husky Technologies, Anellotech, Eastman, Danimer Scientific and WinCup, Novamont, and Avantium.
Floreon makes proprietary compounds based on PLA containing 70 percent to 90 percent renewable, plant-based raw materials, including corn and sugar cane. The company says the materials are tougher than traditional PLA and can deliver significant energy savings in processing. Its compounds can be injected molded in existing manufacturing equipment and are suitable for construction, medical, cosmetics, automotive, electrical, toys, food & drinks, and 3D printing applications.
Earlier this year, the company 250 million U.K. pounds to scale up its bioplastics technology from the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). In November 2023, it also received a GBP 2 million investment by Northern Gritstone.