POLYOLEFINS | MATERIALS
Polyolefins lead the line in new product development
Innovation in polyolefins – much of it from K2025 – include new high-barrier grades, film for mono- material packaging and several collaborative projects to raise performance
Polyolefins dominate the plastics landscape, accounting the for vast majority of consumption across almost all categories – from pipe through to food packaging. The recent K2025 show saw the emergence of many new grades and products – from recyclate-based and non-fluorinated grades to films for mono-material packaging and barrier products. TotalEnergies and Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) have joined forces to develop a pouch to package oil and lubricant. It features a recyclable PE/PA multi-layer structure made of PE from Total’s Lumicene and Lumicene Supertough ranges. It also incorporates 35% recycled polymer, thanks to the use of Total’s rPE 2206, a mechanically recycled post-consumer grade. Using Aquarex water-quenching technology, the new pouch achieves a thickness of 170 microns – an 83% reduction in material use compared to the standard 1-litre HDPE rigid container that is typically 1mm thick. The innovation builds on a previous
collaboration, which showed the feasibility of a recyclable high-barrier stand-up pouch for food applications. The pouch was seen at K2025, while the films were processed during W&H’s in-house expo. “This shows our integral approach to polymer development,” said Olivier Greiner, vice president of polymers for Europe & Orient at TotalEnergies. “We rethink the use of plastics by designing recyclable materials, reduce their impact by reducing thickness, and foster circularity by integrating recycled polymers.” Torsten Schmitz, managing director of extrusion
www.filmandsheet.com
at W&H, added: “This pouch is a tangible example of two megatrends: designing packaging for recyclability and integrating recycled materials into new products.”
High-barrier pouch Polish label and packaging specialist Masterpress is a partner in a pan-European research project called Before – to develop recyclable, high-barrier pouch film. The consortium brings together partners from
Belgium, Germany and Poland. Masterpress participates through Natureef, a Polish association bringing together companies from the packaging, food production and recycling sectors under joint research projects. High-barrier packaging plays a key role in
protecting sensitive products. Traditionally, structures rely on complex multi-material combinations that cannot be recycled in today’s mechanical recycling systems.
Main image: TotalEnergies and W&H have developed a pouch to package oil and lubricant
� January/February 2026 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 21
IMAGE: TOTALENERGIES
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