CREAPAPER GMBH

Their core work

Creapaper is a German SME that manufactures grass-based fibre and paper products as an alternative to conventional wood pulp. They process meadow grass into a raw fibre ("grassfibre") that can partially replace virgin wood pulp in packaging, retail paper and other paper goods, cutting the water and energy footprint of papermaking. Their commercial focus is on supplying sustainable, non-wood fibre to the paper and packaging industry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The company's focus has stayed on a single technology — grass fibre as a wood-pulp substitute — across both funded projects. The first project (2018-2020) appears to have developed and validated the grassfibre process itself, while the second (2021-2023) pushes the same material into concrete retail and packaging applications. The trajectory is from fibre production to market-facing paper and packaging products.

Moving from producing grass-based fibre as a raw material toward selling finished grasspaper products into retail and packaging supply chains.

How they like to work

Creapaper has run both of its H2020 projects as sole coordinator under the SME Instrument (SME-2), which funds single-company innovation rather than multi-partner consortia. CORDIS records no consortium partners, so their EU collaboration has been internal rather than network-based. Partners approaching them should expect a product-focused SME, not a consortium builder.

No recorded consortium partners across the two H2020 projects, reflecting their use of the single-beneficiary SME Instrument. Their network footprint in CORDIS is essentially limited to Germany.

What sets them apart

Creapaper is one of very few European SMEs to win two consecutive SME Instrument Phase 2 grants (EUR 3.4M combined) for the same industrial concept: replacing wood pulp with grass fibre. That sustained backing suggests the technology cleared the pilot stage and is moving into commercial production. For brand owners or paper mills looking for a ready-to-supply non-wood fibre source, they are a direct industrial match rather than a research partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Grass Paper
  Their largest grant (EUR 1.93M) and the foundational project that established grassfibre as an industrial raw material.
• Grasspaper
  Follow-on SME-2 grant (EUR 1.50M) that pushes the technology into retail and packaging applications — a rare second Phase 2 award for the same company.