SUSHI-PACK: Horizon Europe project for sustainable packaging

The Horizon Europe PATHFINDER Open call has granted 400,000 EUR to Patrizio Raffa’s work package in SUSHI-PACK, a new European research and innovation project. The SUSHI-PACK consortium will tackle one of Europe’s most pressing environmental challenges: packaging waste. 

Raffa leads Work Package 2 (WP2), which focuses on the synthesis of polymeric materials for sustainable packaging via esterification and transesterification routes. 

Scalable, bio-based alternatives

SUSHI-PACK addresses the urgent need for sustainable alternatives to fossil-based plastics, as Europe faces rapidly increasing packaging waste and stricter regulatory requirements under the forthcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. By delivering scalable, bio-based alternatives for applications in food, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and textile packaging, SUSHI-PACK aims to drive the transition toward safer, circular, and high-performance materials.

SUSHI-PACK 

Coordinated by the BETA Technological Centre of the University of Vic, UVic-UCC (Spain) and scientifically supported by Greenoil (Italy), SUSHI-PACK (Sustainable High-Performance Packaging from Seaweed and Regenerated Used Cooking Oils) unites leading academic institutions and industrial partners across Europe, including the University of Bari (Italy), the University of Groningen (Netherlands), Covestro (Netherlands), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), B’ZEOS (Spain) and the Technological University of the Shannon (Ireland). The SUSHI-PACK consortium has received funding with a total budget of ca. 3 million EUR. 

Natural plant cuticles 

The project will develop high-performance, bio-based packaging materials inspired by natural plant cuticles and cell walls. These materials will be derived from sustainably sourced seaweed polysaccharides and biobased building blocks obtained from regenerated used cooking oils. Through advanced biocatalytic and metabolic engineering approaches, the project aims to produce novel polyesters and polyester-urethanes with enhanced barrier properties, biodegradability, and smart functionalities such as oxygen responsiveness and self-healing.