Plastic and paper based flexible materials and films are used in a wide range of daily life products e.g. in packaging, furniture surface finish, consumer electronic devices, architecture or in car windows. Applications represent well established multi-billion Euro markets. Key Enabling Technologies for a majority of these applications are based on nano-enabled functionalization of the surfaces. Today, Industry faces game-changing, critical challenges for societal acceptance and economic competitiveness: (1) Overcome plastic waste pollution and follow the European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy towards the development of sustainable materials; (2) Keep pace with digitisation and get products ready for integration of smart systems and intelligent products. FlexFunction2Sustain will be the first European Initiative to support the Industry in overcoming these challenges through a sustainable Open Innovation Ecosystem. FlexFunction2Sustain will develop dedicated services to boost innovation for nano-functionalised flexible plastic and paper surfaces and membranes and offer those services to users, in particular SMEs, in all 28 EU countries through an independent single entry point (SEP) legal entity with multiple regional front offices. FlexFunction2Sustain connects complementary pilot lines to a set of 9 connected lab-2-fab facilities covering all major nano-surface processing techniques for (flexible) plastic and paper surfaces and membranes. The facilities and novel surface functionality will be demonstrated in six relevant industrial application scenarios. 20 pre-commercial pilot cases will demonstrate the Services of the FlexFunction2Sustain OITB The FlexFunction2Sustain OITB is prepared to support the client at any point in the innovation chain from TRL4 to TRL7 with and integrated technological, business development and verification/pre-certification service portfolio that helps the client to progress quickly through the innovation chain.

CIRCULAR FoodPack aims to facilitate the circular use of plastic packaging addressing the most sensitive product category: Food packaging. This sector contains 87% of all European flexible plastic-plastic multilayer composites (MLC) due to the high requirements for food preservation and safety. However, these MLC laminates cannot be recycled by state of the art processes and thus counteract the circular use of food packaging. Recycled polymers from far less demanding mono-film waste fractions underperform and cannot be used in food packaging, mostly due to the presence of intentionally and not intentionally added substances. We will demonstrate the project results by production of high-quality recycled PE at TRL 5-6, using Sensor-Based-Specification or Tracer-Based-Sorting (TBS, SBS), deinking and thermally assisted deodorization as well as solvent-based or mechanical recycling processes. Innovative designs of recyclable and food-safe mono-material laminates will enable the re-use in high-value film applications, with upcoming food packaging marking with deinkable tracers. This allows a future circular economy of food packaging, if TBS guarantees a sorting of food grade materials. Product characterization, food contact compliance testing, LCA, LCC and business modelling will support and guide process development, upscale and design new packaging. The approach addresses the scope of the call exactly, since innovative sorting and recycling solutions are applied to novel designs being developed. That enables the re-use in the same high-value product sector by removing undesirable substances from secondary raw materials. Addressing the annual 2 Mio tonnes of European MLC food packaging, which currently hamper the recycling of 17.8 Mio tonnes of food packaging waste, the expected impact on flexible packaging and food sector is substantial. An interdisciplinary team of 4 RTOs and 10 industrial partners (5 SMEs) will finally implement the new circular economy approach.