Changsu Industrial and TotalEnergies Corbion announce collaboration to advance adoption of biobased BOPLA films

Xiamen Changsu Industrial Pte Ltd (“Changsu Industrial”) and TotalEnergies Corbion have recently announced a strategic cooperation agreement to further deepen the cooperation in the R&D of new technology and application of BOPLA, as well as the market promotion and product development of BOPLA and its relevant applications. This partnership aims to further advance the PLA industry to new heights.

Changsu Industrial is one of the leading global players in high performance specialty films that focuses on three major product segments: new energy films material, biodegradable films material as well as functional films material. Through the bi-axial stretching technology and biobased PLA, the BOPLA product, BiONLY^®, launched by Changsu Industrial inherits both biodegradability and mechanical properties that made it an ideal candidate to significantly reduce carbon footprint in packaging materials.

TotalEnergies Corbion (formerly known as Total Corbion PLA) is a global technology leader in Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and lactide monomers. PLA is a biobased and biodegradable polymer made from annually renewable resources, offering a reduced carbon footprint versus traditional plastics. The Luminy® PLA portfolio, which includes both high heat and standard PLA grades, is an innovative material that is used in a wide range of markets from packaging to consumer goods, fibers and automotive. TotalEnergies Corbion, headquartered in the Netherlands, operates a 75,000 tons per year PLA production facility in Rayong, Thailand and has recently announced the intention to build a second plant in Grandpuits, France. The company is a 50/50 joint venture between TotalEnergies and Corbion

As one of the key focus in new materials development as mentioned in “Made in China 2025”, the bioplastic industry in China has seen tremendous growth with new bio-based materials gaining technological breakthrough and its market being expanded continuously. The development of BOPLA is a good example of strong collaboration of different players in the value chain. These innovations will contribute to the green transformation that is on-going now in various segment, thereby contributing directly to the “3060” carbon neutral target of China.

Both companies are already working closely to bring sustainable solutions to the Chinese market. One of the key examples is the development of BOPLA based solutions used in the courier logistics segment where adhesive tapes made of Changsu’s BiONLY® is in progress to replace conventional fossil based material and help provide a strong solution to postal service in China to address the plastic challenge. The Chinese government has already announced relevant regulatory changes to encourage the adoption of biodegradable material in all postal service by 2025, and some cities have also expressed the strong desire to achieve this earlier by end of 2023. With the further tightening of the regulation, BOPLA based adhesive tapes is expected to experience a wider adoption in the future and the strategic partnership between Changsu and TotalEnergies Corbion will undoubtedly inject further impetus into this development.

With increasing needs of sustainable solution in the world, the partnership of Changsu and TotalEnergies Corbion will certainly pave the way for introduction of more PLA based innovation to the world, thereby creating a “win, win, win” situation to the industry and the environment.