BASF has signed a long-term exclusive contract to market French startup Lactips’ bioplastics products.
Based in eastern French city of Saint-Jean Bonnefonds, Lactips, is a producer of water-soluble and biodegradable thermoplastic pellets based on milk protein.
In a 13 May statement, BASF said the partnership supported its strategy to leverage sustainable solutions to drive business growth.
The two companies will target the home care as well as industrial & institutional (I&I) markets with as aim to replace polyvinyl alcohol films with Lactips’ solutions in applications such as dishwasher tablets.
While the French startup will focus on the development of the film material technology, BASF said it would bring in its expertise in network and supply chain to market the product.
“Lactips’ solution for films for dishwasher tabs supplements our existing portfolio of sustainable offerings. It allows us to provide our customers with a broad portfolio of bio-degradable products for the home care industry,” said Robert Parker, director, new business development at care chemicals, BASF.
Lactips was founded in 2014, after a seven-year project by the University of Saint-Etienne successfully proved it was possible to develop films and pellets made of casein, a protein derived from milk.
In the medium term, the company is planning to build a 3 kilotonne-per-annum manufacturing site in France to scale up its technology.