Netherlands-based Senbis and a number of Dutch universities and research institutes invest 6.6 million EUR in the development of a new biodegradable polyester – the BIOTTEK project. The consortium has also received a 3.3 million EUR grant through the European Just Transition Funds ( JTF). The research project started in September 2023 and will run for three years.
The project is focused on finding a solution for the enormous microplastic pollution caused by apparel textiles. A biodegradable replacement can avoid long term microplastic mass
pollution, although many technical and economic challenges still have to be overcome when
designing the polymer and fibre. In the BIOTTEK project knowledge is gathered and gained on what makes certain biopolymers biodegradable. The insights are used to develop new bio polyesters. Another unique element of the project is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is utilized to speed up the development and to provide new suggestions for molecular design.
The research project consists of the following partners:
- Senbis Polymer Innovations B.V. for polymerization and melt spinning of fibres;
- University of Groningen for polymerization and characterization of biopolymers;
- NHL Stenden University for processing and assessing various end of life scenarios (recycling);
- Wageningen Food & Biobased Research for biodegradability assessment and method development;
- TNO for Artificial Intelligence.
