Archives for July 2025

GAIKER is a technological partner in the compostable film and packaging company BIOPLASTICS4HEALTH S.L.

17 de July de 2025 by Clara Bilbao Leave a Comment

The innovative 100% compostable film and packaging solution by Bioplastics4health SL has been developed with the contribution of GAIKER technology

Faced with the growing environmental challenge of fossil plastic waste, Bioplastics4health SL (B4H) presents an innovative solution: 100% compostable films and packaging made from PHBV, a biopolymer that is derived from potato starch. Based on exclusive technology partially developed by the GAIKER technology centre, and with initial industrial production in Germany, it has plans for expansion in the Basque Country, where B4H is expected to address the lack of industrial capacity in Europe for this compostable material, which is key to the circular economy.

According to Plastics Europe (2024), bioplastics only account for 0.6% of the more than 400 million tonnes of plastics produced globally. Production is expected to increase to 7.7 million tonnes by 2029 (annual rate of 14%), driven by regulations such as the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and demand for sustainable packaging. The benefits of PHBV include the fact that it is home compostable, as opposed to industrial compostable, such as PLA; as well as its higher thermal resistance and lower environmental impact.

With an initial investment of €700k and a B2B model, B4H is planning an initial capacity of 2,840 tonnes per year and projects a turnover of €10.3 million in 5 years, covering part of a growing European market. Phase 2 of the company has already begun the search for public-private funding for a future plant in Spain, aligned with EU sustainability regulations and allowing it to supply part of the Spanish and European agri-food market.

Some of the investors in this first round include lead investor TranXforma Food, S.L., as well as RAISA Film de Polietileno,S.A., an investment group led by chef Iñaki Andradas, and the GAIKER Technology Centre. A group of small investors from the agri-food sector have also provided capital with a convertible note. B4H has taken out a €180k loan from ENISA’s Agroinnpulso programme and received grants from the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Basque Government’s Basque Business Development Agency (SPRI).

Development of chemical recycling technologies to treat complex plastic waste

15 de July de 2025 by Clara Bilbao Leave a Comment

The application and industrialisation of solvolysis and dissolution processes enable complex plastic waste from textiles, composites and multilayer laminates to be upcycled.

The GAIKER Technology Centre, a member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance, BRTA and expert in plastic and chemical recycling technologies, is coordinating the COMPLESOLV project which seeks to extend the circular economy to complex plastic waste from textiles, composites and multilayer laminates through the research and development of chemical recycling technologies based on solvolysis and dissolution processes. To do so, it has the support of Koopera Servicios Ambientales, S.Coop.I.S., Mecanizados Martiartu S.L. and Trienekens País Vasco, S.L.

This research,which began in 2024 and is funded by Bizkaia Provincial Council as part of its Line 1 Technology Transfer programme, seeks to provide a solution to the recovery of waste that cannot be treated by mechanical recycling technologies due to the complexity of its texture, composition or the bond between the materials that make it up.

The proposed solution is based on chemical recycling by solvolysis and dissolution, as its application and industrialisation enable upcycling, i.e. the production of new plastic materials or products of a higher quality, ecological and economic value, avoiding linear models and opting for circular models for the use of resources. It is a question of promoting the circular economy.

To achieve this goal, COMPLESOLV is divided into four phases:

1. Characterisation and conditioning of complex waste (multilayers, textiles and composites).

2. Research into solvolysis and selective dissolution processes applied to complex waste that is difficult to recycle.

3. Research into advanced purification and quality control of solvolysis and selective dissolution products.

4. Technical-economic and environmental validation and assessment

The development of this project sets out to meet current demands for infinite recycling to products of equivalent quality to virgin material, plastic products derived from chemical recycling with synthesis or food grade and recycled products with very low levels of impurities to fulfil the specifications demanded by secondary raw material markets. Furthermore, it also seeks to contribute to better management of complex waste with plastics that are difficult to treat deposited in landfills in the Basque Country and to ensure that the recycled products that reach the markets come from processes with a lower impact on the use of resources (natural solvents), energy (low temperature reactions) and zero waste (products and by-products used globally).

Sensors and AI for smart sorting of complex waste

15 de July de 2025 by Clara Bilbao Leave a Comment

At GAIKER we have computer vision and spectroscopic analysis techniques which, combined with predictive models based on AI algorithms, are used both to monitor the characteristics of different materials (plastics, metals) and to automatically identify them in real time when mixed in waste streams.

We develop predictive models and use them in case studies.

Our technology:

RGB computer vision
Raman spectroscopy
Hyperspectral imaging, HSI
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, LIBS

>> Further information

Would you like to keep up to date with our news?

Member of: