BORN Project Completes First Year of Packaging Research
The EU-funded consortium is developing biobased and biodegradable food packaging materials across its three-year program.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Materials Science
The BORN project, coordinated by Italy's Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, completed its first year of research on biobased and biodegradable food packaging. The project was launched on 1 October 2025 and received an EIC Booster Grant of €50,000.
Why it matters
Food packaging is a major source of plastic waste, and developing materials that are both high-performing and biodegradable addresses a recognized environmental challenge. The project's life-cycle approach, spanning material design through end-of-life, reflects a broader effort to make packaging more sustainable.
The project carries a €3.29 million EU contribution and was one of six projects selected from 105 proposals under the EIC Pathfinder programme. Specific performance results for the materials were not reported in the first year.
The players
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Italy's national research council, which coordinates the BORN project and conducts scientific research across many disciplines.
EIC Pathfinder
The European Innovation Council programme that funds early-stage, high-risk research projects, including BORN.
The details
During its first year, the eight-partner consortium from six countries addressed material design, processing, characterisation, sustainability, and end-of-life. The project is sharing progress through international conferences, seminars, a website, a newsletter, and social media.
Timeline
1 October 2025: BORN project launched.
First year of the project: research milestones completed.
Second year of the project: consortium plans to further develop and assess the most promising approaches.
Big Picture
BORN is one of six projects selected from 105 proposals under the EIC Pathfinder programme, which funds high-risk early-stage research. Its focus on biodegradable food packaging extends that portfolio into a practical sustainability problem.
Consumers may eventually see food packaging made from biobased and biodegradable materials if the research succeeds. The consortium's second-year work will determine which approaches are most promising for practical use.
The takeaway
Advances in biodegradable packaging depend on balancing performance with end-of-life outcomes, which is why this project considers the full life cycle. Watching how the consortium's second-year results develop will show whether these materials can move beyond the laboratory.
Further reading
Explore more in our Materials Science coverage of emerging packaging and material research.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Renewable Carbon News.
