Natural thermoplastic polymer factory opens
German start-up Traceless has officially inaugurated a new large-scale factory in Hamburg-Harburg yesterday. The company founded in 2020 has developed a patented process to extract natural polymers from agricultural waste and make them similar to a thermoplastic, but without any plastic. It can extract natural polymers such as cellulose, lignin, starch and proteins, to make certified plastic-free thermoplastics. The technology delivers granulates for injection moulding or extrusion, as well as coatings and flexible film applications. The fully biobased materials are also said to be compostable.
Obtained through a low-impact production process, and made from locally sourced biomass, Traceless polymers offer high resource savings, a reduction in the order of 91% of CO2 emissions, in addition to finding uses for agricultural residues.
The 4,000 square meter factory serves as the company’s new headquarters bringing together production, sales, product and technology development, logistics and administration under a single roof. The pilot plant will also be transferred from Buchholz to the new site. Production capacity is expected to be around 3,000 tonnes per year. The cost of setting up the factory exceeded €20 million, Traceless received support and funds from the German Ministry of Environment.
Early-stage partners such as packaging maker Mondi, e-commerce platform Otto and distribution partner Biesterfeld will have priority access to the non-plastic plastics.
Photo shows from left to right: Dr. Anne Lamp, Traceless Founder and CEO, Katharina Fegebank, Hamburg Senator for the Environment, and Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment © Jonas Walter
