Danone, Nestle & Startup to Accelerate All-Biobased PET Bottle

The world’s two largest bottled water companies, France’s Danone (danone.com; U.S. office in White Plains, N.Y) and Nestle Waters, (nestle-waters.com) Stamford, CT, have joined forces with startup Origin Materials of Sacramento, Calif., to accelerate commercial-scale development of 100% biobased PET bottles made from sustainable and renewable resources. The NaturALL Bottle Alliance project will use biomass feedstocks—initially, cardboard, sawdust, and wood chips, but will also explore rice hulls, straw and agricultural residue; thus, not diverting resources or land from food production for human or animal consumption.

For years, both of these leading companies have been committed to sustainable business practices. Once they identified the unique approach of Origin Materials separately, the two companies decided to team up to accelerate this promising technology, said to represent a scientific breakthrough for this market sector. Moreover, the new NaturALL Bottle Alliance has plans to make it available to the entire food and beverage industry.

Danone and Nestle-Waters are providing expertise and teams, as well as financial support, to help Origin Materials make this technology widely available and in record time.  Origin Materials has produced samples of 80% biobased PET in its pilot plant in Sacramento, and construction of a “pioneer plant” is underway this year. Production of the first samples of 60+% biobased PET will start in 2018. The initial volume goal for the first step is to bring 5000 mt (11-million lbs) of biobased PET to the market. The Alliance aims to develop the process for producing at least 75% biobased PET plastic bottles at commercial scale as early as in 2020, scaling up to 95% in 2022. The Alliance will continue its research to up the biobased content level to their objective of 100%.