Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers Market

Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers Market By Type (Non-Biodegradable vs Biodegradable), By End-Use Industry (Packaging, Consumer Goods, Agriculture & Horticulture, Textile, Automotive & Transportation and Others), By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2028

Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers market is anticipated to observe impressive growth during the forecast period, 2024-2028. Bioplastics are made from bio-based materials such as sugar, seaweed, or starch. Biopolymers, on the other hand, are a broad class of materials that include bioplastics as well as natural polymers like silk, chitosan, and wool. Bioplastics and biopolymers have a wide range of functionalities that are tailored to each application. They may be transformed using normal plastic processing procedures into a wide range of commodities. For most instances, it is sufficient to simply adapt the processing equipment's process parameters to each polymer's specific needs. According to the European Bioplastics Association, global bioplastics production capacities are set to increase from around 2.23 million tonnes in 2022 to approximately 6.3 million tonnes in 2027.

Additionally, bio-based plastics are superior to traditional plastics in that they lessen dependency on finite fossil resources while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions by substituting plant-based materials for fossil-based ones. According to the EuropaBio Association, the European bioplastics industry accounted for around 23,000 jobs in Europe, but this number could increase more than tenfold by 2030, with up to 300,000 high-skilled jobs in the European bioplastics sector. Depending on the feedstock, the product, and the application, some life cycle evaluations demonstrate that bio-based plastics offer large CO2 savings compared to conventional plastics. Because of this, bio-based plastics can support the European Union (EU) in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and achieving its zero-net emissions goal by 2030.

Furthermore, plastics made from bio-based or partially bio-based materials, like bio-based PE or PET, exhibit the same physical characteristics as their conventional counterparts and, in addition to being mechanically recyclable in current recycling streams, have the added advantage of lowering a product's carbon footprint. The bioplastics and biopolymers sector has developed a wide range of cutting-edge technical and material solutions. Numerous bio-based polymers offer novel material features for improved performance, such as improved optical qualities, greater material strength, increased breathability, and decreased thickness. By being biodegradable in specific settings, cutting-edge polymers like PLA, PHA, or bio-based PBS offer new end-of-life alternatives. Other modern materials, including 100% biobased polyethylene furanoate (PEF), are easily mechanically recyclable and have superior barrier qualities to equivalent conventional polymers.

Development of Advanced Materials

The main driver that is stimulating the growth of bio-based, biodegradable plastics is the development of biopolymers such as PLA (polylactic acid) and PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates). These polymers and plastics are completely biobased and biodegradable and exhibit exceptional physical and mechanical properties depending on their chemical composition. As per European Bioplastics Association, the production capacities of PLA are also predicted to double by 2023 compared to 2018, therefore, increasing the demand for the overall bioplastics & biopolymers market. Furthermore, it is anticipated that bio-based PP will enter the market at a commercial scale with a strong growth potential due to the widespread application of PP in a variety of sectors.

Increasing Awareness Regarding Sustainability Among Consumers

Plastic pollution is a significant threat to the natural ecosystem owing to its toxicity and the damage it causes to animal, aquatic, and plant species. The majority of plastics produced are derived from fossil fuel feedstocks, which emit harmful greenhouse gases (GHG), causing global temperatures to rise. According to United Nations (UN), GHG emissions from plastics could reach about 13% of the entire remaining carbon budget by 2050. Moreover, according to the World Wide Fund, an average person could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week, which effects human health, causing cancer or changing hormone activity, which can lead to reproductive issues and cognitive impairment. As a result, the use of alternatives such as bioplastics and biopolymers is being promoted to reduce reliance on fossil resources while improving a product's carbon footprint.

Recent Developments

• Recently, the use of independent and internationally respected labels to mark bioplastic and biopolymer products has become important for consumers to receive transparent and correct information in the European Union (EU). For instance, the substantiation of bio-based claims should conform to the EU standards EN 16640 and/or EN 16785. Those standards specify the calculation method for determining the bio-based (carbon) content in monomers, polymers, and plastic materials and products based on the C14 content measurement or C14 method and elemental analysis, respectively. Furthermore, biodegradable products certified according to the standards EN 13432 and EN 14995 can be called (industrially) compostable.

Market Segmentation

Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers market is segmented into Type, End-Use Industry, Country, and Company. Based on type, the market is divided into Non-Biodegradable and Biodegradable. Based on End-Use Industry, the market is divided into Packaging, Consumer Goods, Agriculture & Horticulture, Textile, Automotive & Transportation, and Others.

Market Players

BASF SE, Novamont S.p.A., Total Carbon Pla, Biome Bioplastics Limited, Ecovia Renewables Inc., Bio-on S.p.A., Nurel Biopolymers, HPPE LLC, Specialty Biopolymers Corporation, Meredian Holdings Group Inc. are some of the leading companies operating in the market.

Report Scope:

In this report, Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers Market, By Type:
• Non-Biodegradable
• Biodegradable
• Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers Market, By End-Use Industry:
• Packaging
• Consumer Goods
• Agriculture & Horticulture
• Textile,
• Automotive & Transportation
• Others
• Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers Market, By Country:
• France
• Germany
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Spain
• Finland
• Belgium
• Portugal
• Denmark
• Netherlands

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present Europe Bioplastics & Biopolymers market

Company Information

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).