PROJECT NEWS: 5th General Assembly in France

The SEALIVE Consortium gathered in Cadarahce France for the 5th General Assembly, and the first in-person meeting after more than two years, on the 5th and 6th of July 2022! More than 40 researchers and industry representatives gathered at CEA and PELLENC facilities in beautiful Cadarache, to discuss the latest results and plans for the next year of the project.

Project partners presented their recent results and achievements since the last meeting online General Assembly in February 2022. Despite lab closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic and natural setbacks due to the nature of research, the project is progressing toward the development of alternative bio-based plastic formulas. Our ambitious project aims to not only formulate new biobased plastics, with advanced properties but also demonstrate their applications in industrial and real environments. Before the end of the project, the new biobased plastics will be demonstrated in rigid food packaging and flexible food packaging, mulching film, fishing nets, and crates!

As the project finalizes the new formulas and which methods to use for producing the final products, project partners are working in parallel to ensure appropriate end-of-life. Work is underway to assess how the products will be recycled, re-used, composted, and managed at waste centers. Partners are also analyzing current standards, particularly biodegradation and ecotoxicity, as well as current plastic and bio-plastic policies to make sure the final SEALIVE products can be taken up by the industry and eventually society!

We have a long way to go but the members of the project’s innovation committee and industry partners provided valuable feedback on the solutions and the team is motivated for the next phase of the project.

During the meeting, project partners enjoyed two site visits to CEA’s microalgae facilities and Pellenc’s sorting site. More coming soon!