From digital tools to data spaces: building trust in circular packaging
ViSS, MAGNO and DATA4CIRC explore digital tools for traceable, trustworthy packaging at the BIO4PACK Cluster webinar
Last week, ViSS took part in the BIO4PACK Cluster webinar “Digital tools for building trust”, together with the MAGNO and DATA4CIRC projects. Three speakers presented how digital tools can bring transparency and confidence to circular packaging value chains.
Alejandra Pita (IDENER, MAGNO) introduced digital twins and their applications for circular packaging. Jaime Ortíz (CETEC, ViSS) presented the ViSS ICT platform, which brings together a Traceability Tool, an Evaluation & Decision Tool that digitalises the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, and a Public Tool to communicate reliable information. He discussed four bottlenecks in the industry: isolated systems, inconsistent data, the intellectual property paradox and the risk of greenwashing. Andrés Arias (IDENER, DATA4CIRC) closed with Digital Product Passports and data spaces, explaining how data can be shared across organisations while remaining under its owner’s control.
The chat was very active, with many questions on bringing digital tools to market and on the difference between digital tools and data spaces. The speakers agreed on one message: circularity depends on trust, and trust depends on reliable, traceable and well-governed data.
The presentations are available on Zenodo.
Watch the webinar online!
ViSS looks ahead to its final year in Alhama de Murcia
Partners gathered at CETEC to review progress, prepare for the final year and discover where the ViSS biopolymer comes to life
Under the warm sun of Alhama de Murcia, surrounded by the contrasting landscapes of the Guadalentín Valley and the nearby mountains, the ViSS consortium came together for its latest General Assembly.
Hosted by CETEC, the meeting offered partners the opportunity to review the work carried out so far and, above all, to look ahead to the final year of the project. Discussions focused on the activities still to come, the implementation of the knowledge generated during ViSS, and the next steps needed to bring the project’s results closer to their final applications.
The meeting was also an opportunity to step outside the conference room and visit CETEC’s facilities. Guided by CETEC experts, partners explored some of the equipment and processes behind the production of the PHBV biopolymer developed within ViSS.
The visit followed the different stages of the process, starting from fermentation in the bioreactor, where parameters such as oxygen are carefully controlled. The resulting biomass is then concentrated and separated before the PHBV is extracted and purified. CETEC experts also showed how the material can be analysed and characterised, including properties such as its viscosity.
The visit provided a tangible view of the work behind the materials developed in ViSS, connecting the discussions around the table with the processes taking place in the laboratory.
With one year remaining, there is still plenty ahead for ViSS – and many more results and stories to share.
ViSS featured in IDE with two articles on sustainable packaging and digital traceability
Spanish packaging trade magazine IDE highlights the ViSS PHBV value chain and the project’s ICT Platform, showing how digital tools can support traceability, transparency and more sustainable food packaging
The ViSS project has been featured in IDE Información del Envase y Embalaje, a Spanish magazine specialising in the packaging sector, through two articles presenting key aspects of the project’s work.
Published in June, the first article, “ViSS: una cadena de valor segura y sostenible para envases alimentarios de PHBV”, provides an overview of the ViSS approach to developing a viable, safe and sustainable PHBV value chain for food packaging. It follows the full journey from agro-industrial residues to high-performance packaging, covering PHBV production and processing, recyclability and biodegradability, the Safe and Sustainable by Design approach, and the role of digital traceability.
Tray developed in ViSS for beekeeping
More recently, IDE published “La plataforma digital de ViSS: datos y trazabilidad para un packaging alimentario más sostenible”, focusing specifically on the digital dimension of the project. The article highlights how the ViSS ICT Platform supports the collection, management and sharing of data across the value chain, helping make materials, processes and their impacts more transparent and verifiable.
Developed within ViSS, the ICT Platform brings together three complementary components: a Traceability tool to capture and communicate information throughout the value chain; an Evaluation & Decision tool to support decisions based on safety and sustainability criteria; and a Public tool to provide reliable information on the ViSS value chain and its impacts.
Together, the two articles show how material innovation and digitalisation go hand in hand in ViSS. By combining sustainable PHBV packaging with robust data and traceability tools, the project aims to support a more transparent, circular and trustworthy bio-based plastics value chain.
Read the article on the ViSS PHBV value chain
Read the article on the ViSS digital platform
ViSS at the CCRI Knowledge Hub webinar: building trust in circular value chains
A joint webinar organised by K CCRI and CETEC brought together EU projects to talk about how to strenghten circular value chains.
How does a circular innovation earn the trust of businesses, users and public authorities?
That was the question at the centre of “From innovation to trust: Reducing uncertainty in Circular Value Chains”, a webinar organised by the CCRI Knowledge Hub, in which ViSS took part alongside three other EU projects: ANIPH, PHAntastic and DATA4CIRC.
ViSS, coordinated by CETEC, presented its work on a circular value chain for PHBV-based food packaging made from industrial waste, and the challenges of scaling it up: production costs, processability, safe formulation, biodegradability and mechanical recyclability.
ANIPH discussed bio-based materials for humanitarian and healthcare uses, PHAntastic presented PHA-based solutions for agriculture, and DATA4CIRC looked at the role of data, traceability and digital platforms across the circular economy – a theme close to ViSS’s own ICT Platform, built to make exactly this kind of data traceable and verifiable.
The shared conclusion: trust in circular solutions has to be built through technical validation, traceability and reliable data – not assumed.
Watch the recording of the webinar here
Picture credits
ViSS sixth newsletter
Embark on a journey to explore innovative bio-based plastics with ViSS newsletter.
Dear readers,
On 30 June 2026, the ViSS project will take part in a dedicated webinar exploring how the Safe and Sustainable by Design approach is being applied in practice across European projects working on bio-based, circular and sustainable materials.
The session will bring together speakers from ViSS, ReBIOlution, together with the cluster of PHAntastic, VINNY, BIOBIVE and Agro4Agri. Through concrete project experiences, the webinar will highlight practical approaches, common challenges and lessons learned in implementing SSbD in real innovation contexts.
Why attend?
Discover how SSbD can support better materials and packaging solutions
Learn how SSbD is being applied across different European projects
Understand practical challenges in assessing safety, sustainability and circularity
Read the newsletter online
Webinar: SSbD in practice – Lessons from European projects on bio-based and circular materials
The webinar will explore how SSbD can be applied in practice, focusing on project experiences, social aspects, early-stage screening, and indicators for future safety and sustainability assessments
How can safety and sustainability be embedded from the very beginning of material design?
Date: 30 June 2026
Time: 13:00 CEST
Format: Online webinar
Registration here
On 30 June 2026, the ViSS project will take the spotlight in a dedicated webinar exploring how the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach is being applied in practice across European innovation projects working on bio-based, circular and sustainable materials.
Titled “SSbD in Practice: Lessons from European Projects on Bio-based and Circular Materials,” the session will bring together experts and project representatives to exchange concrete experiences, challenges and lessons learned from the implementation of SSbD in real project contexts.
The work is the result of a valuable shared effort among several European projects committed to advancing safer, more sustainable and circular solutions. The event will connect the BIO4PACK cluster, represented by ViSS and ReBIOlution, with the cluster of PHAntastic, VINNY, BIOBIVEand Agro4Agri, creating a space for cross-project dialogue and collaboration.
Participants will gain insight into how European projects are approaching SSbD from complementary perspectives, and how these experiences can support the development of innovative materials and packaging solutions that are safer, more sustainable and better aligned with circular economy goals.
This session is designed for researchers, innovators, industry stakeholders, policymakers, sustainability professionals and anyone interested in understanding how SSbD is being applied in practice across Europe.
Register now and be part of the conversation on the future of Safe and Sustainable by Design innovation.
Advancing safe and sustainable bio-based polymers
ViSS joins European partners at Polymers 2026 to explore how innovation, safety, and circularity can shape the next generation of bio-based materials
ViSS seminar at VTT explores sustainable material development for PHA biopolymers
A hybrid seminar hosted by VTT brought together experts and stakeholders to explore how innovative approaches can support the development of safer, more sustainable and circular bio-based materials.
On 15 April 2026, VTT organised the seminar “EU-ViSS event: Sustainable Material Development Applied to PHA Biopolymers” at the VTT FutureHub in Espoo, Finland, with the possibility to join remotely. The event gathered around 40–50 participants in a hybrid format and provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge on sustainable material development in the context of the ViSS project.
The morning session focused on how modelling can support material development and how safety, sustainability and circularity can be integrated from the early stages of a project. Participants heard expert presentations, an overview of the ViSS project, and insights into PHA materials, including the results achieved by VTT within ViSS.
The programme also included talks on PHA bioproduction and processing, complementing the ViSS perspective and offering a broader view of the potential of PHAs as sustainable bio-based materials. The event created a valuable space for discussion, networking and knowledge exchange among participants in a collaborative atmosphere.
ViSS takes part in an ERRIN event on biotechnology
CETBIO participated to the online meeting to present ViSS packaging solutions
On 16 of April, ERRIN (European Regions Research and Innovation Network), organised the meeting “From Policy to Practice: Regions at the Heart of Europe’s Bioeconomy and Biotech Innovation”. The online event focused on the role of biotechnology in Europe’s transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy.
As part of the occasion, María Nicolás, from CETBIO, presented ViSS under the theme “Production of bioplastics through biotechnological routes”. She presented the various applications of the bioplastic developed in the ViSS project and its potential to support more sustainable industrial solutions. The presentation of ViSS showcased how industrial biotechnology and biomaterials can help address important challenges related to sustainability, waste management, and circular economy.
The bioplastics gap: Europe races to catch up with Asia
Bioplastics sector is expanding rapidly, but Europe still lags far behind Asia. The bottleneck is not innovation, but industrial scale-up and competitiveness. This is why an EU-funded project aims to create the conditions for market uptake.
By Gioia Salvatori
Bioplastics account for just 0.5% of the nearly 414 million tonnes of plastic produced annually, but the sector is expanding rapidly, driven by rising demand and advancing technologies. Global bioplastics production capacity is expected to double, from around 2.47 million tonnes in 2024 to approximately 5.73 million tonnes in 2029. Some regions have already taken the lead: in 2025 Asia continued to dominate global bioplastics production capacities, holding about 55 %. Europe, however, is set to increase its share from 14 % to 17.2% by 2030. If the reasons behind Europe’s lag are relatively clear, the path to catching up remains far more uncertain.
Bioplastics production: the reasons behind Asia’s advantage
China is at the forefront of Asia’s bioplastics industry together with India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The reasons are structural, according to Michael Carus, one of the leading experts on the global bioplastics market, the founder and former CEO at nova Institute (Germany). China’s ability to anticipate future markets, combined with strong state support for strategic sectors, has enabled it to invest early in export-oriented industries linked to the green transition, from batteries to solar panels and biotechnology. From a technical standpoint, scaling up renewable plastics production requires “relying on three pillars: bio-based production, CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilisation, a process that captures CO2 emissions and converts them into valuable products), and recycling. And China is strong in all three”, Carus says.
Europe, by contrast, faces a different reality. “In Europe there is not a lot of support. We have support in research and development, but we have almost no support in market introduction. So that means we have so far no quotas or similar incentives for those products, in contrast to other regions of the world such as India”, Carus underlines.
Beyond industrial policy and cost competitiveness, is the availability of raw materials a factor contributing to Asia’s advantage? “Of course, in Asia they have good biomass availability. That’s true. For example Cassava, a starch crop, sugar cane, castor oil”.
… but, on the other hand, Europe is not so short on biomass. “For example – Carus explains –, starch is a very important raw material for plastic and we have plenty of wheat and corn production here in Europe. What’s needed is a change of mindset: cultivation for industries must not be taboo anymore. Most experts think it’s a good idea to use 5–10% of food crops for industrial applications to have such emergency reserves in the back (…) Agriculture has always supplied both industry and food; this has been the case for thousands of years”.
This remains a contested view among bioeconomy experts, reflecting broader tensions between food security and the industrial use of biomass.
The European system: rethinking the value chain
So, could a strategy blending recycling, CO2 utilisation and biomass production work as effectively as in Asia to boost the European bioplastics sector? For Carmen Fernández Ayuso of CETEC, the challenge goes beyond materials alone. In her view, Europe still needs stronger coordination across the bioplastics value chain if it wants to improve competitiveness. Key issues include industrial scale, speed of deployment and manufacturing. “To close the gap, Europe needs not only more material production, but also stronger alignment between polymer producers, converters, brand owners, regulators and end-of-life systems. If those parts do not evolve together, market adoption remains slow. So, overall, I would say that the main difference between Asia and Europe is the one of the industrial scale-up. Europe knows how to innovate; the real challenge is scaling that innovation into competitive production and market uptake”, Fernández Ayuso says.
ViSS project: creating the conditions for realistic market uptake
From Murcia, Spain, Carmen Fernández Ayuso coordinates the European ViSS project, which is developing biobased and biodegradable PHBV plastic from poultry and sugar-industry residues through a non-sterile fermentation process.
The project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of this value chain for food-packaging applications. A PHBV poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) pellet has already been developed in Spain with 10–15% and 20–30% 3HV (3 Hydroxyvalerate) content, which is relevant because it allows material properties to be adjusted to different packaging requirements. The project has progressed beyond early laboratory work, with feedstocks validated, pilot-scale production achieved and the demo plant under development. The next stages include scale-up, packaging demonstrators and industrial validation.
If timelines are held, pilot demonstrators could launch by June 2026 through industrial partnerships. Then an Italian firm will produce trays and films, while Alicante’s tech centre pioneers mesh bags.
Fossil-based polymers still retain a major advantage in production scale, installed capacity and cost competitiveness. “I wouldn’t say the market entry challenge is solved yet, but ViSS is building the right conditions for realistic market uptake: pilot-scale production has been demonstrated, formulation work is producing promising results, and industrial packaging validation is built into the later work packages”, Fernández Ayuso says.
“Safe and sustainable by design”: debunking the illusion of cheap fossil-based plastics
Cost remains the central obstacle. PHAs-based bioplastics, such as those developed within ViSS, can cost between two and four times more than conventional plastics or even more.
For José Benedicto, Senior R&D Consultant and Sustainable Development Researcher at Kveloce, a ViSS partner, this price gap is misleading. “Conventional plastics remain artificially cheap, as their environmental externalities are not priced”, a distortion that, he argues, can only be addressed through a systemic shift towards a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) approach. This approach embeds four dimensions from the earliest stages of material design to the end of life: “safety, environmental sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability (…) The externalities of conventional non-biodegradable plastic are very high, but no consumer is directly paying for them”, Benedicto says.
In other words, plastic bags may be cheap for consumers, but they are costly for society, public finances and the environment.
To move now and concretely towards sustainable production, Benedicto points to two urgent priorities. First, regulation: “Legislation should ensure that it is possible to upcycle agro-industrial waste to avoid extracting more materials from nature”. Second, scale: “economic support for large-scale production is needed to support the initial phase, when production volumes are low”.
Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation: a real push for bioplastics?
Amid fierce competition in the bioplastics market, the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation 2025/40 (PPWR) will become mandatory across all member states from August 12, 2026. Under the regulation, by 2030 all packaging placed on the EU market must meet a minimum recyclability threshold of around 70%, or it will no longer be allowed. This requirement will tighten over time. The PPWR also introduces mandatory recycled content targets for plastic packaging (10–35% by 2030), binding waste reduction targets starting at 5% by 2030, and effectively PFAS-free food-contact packaging, with only trace-level thresholds permitted.
But will this translate into a real boost for bioplastics?
“My view is that PPWR is necessary, but it is not sufficient on its own – Fernández Ayuso says – Wider adoption will also depend on whether these materials can meet the performance standards expected by industry while delivering clear environmental value”.
“This legislation is generally for plastics. It’s an opportunity for bioplastic solutions, but also plastic that is not bioplastic is recyclable…”, Benedicto adds. The PPWR greenlights biodegradable and compostable materials only for high-impact niches, like fruit and vegetables labels, tea and coffee filters, delivering instant wins. Yet it offers no broad push for bioplastics, while a lot of experts demand game-changing quotas to supercharge them – for them to win the materials race and to fill the gap with Asian bioplastic production.