NAFIGATE CORPORATION, A.S.

Their core work

NAFIGATE is a Czech SME specializing in PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) bioplastics production from organic waste streams. They develop processes to convert urban biowaste, brewery spent grains, and other organic residues into biodegradable packaging materials. Their H2020 portfolio spans the full biowaste-to-bioplastics value chain — from urban waste collection and valorisation through to high-performance PHA coatings and rigid packaging, including enzymatic end-of-life recycling. They bring commercial bioplastics manufacturing expertise into large Innovation Action consortia focused on circular bioeconomy.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

NAFIGATE entered H2020 in 2019 through WaysTUP!, focused broadly on urban biowaste utilisation and transformation into biobased products. By 2020-2021, their involvement became more specific and commercially mature — HOOP brought in circular economy investment models, while BioSupPack zeroed in on PHA bioplastics production, advanced coatings, and enzymatic recycling. The trajectory shows a clear move from general biowaste processing toward a full lifecycle approach for bioplastic packaging — from feedstock to product to end-of-life.

NAFIGATE is moving toward commercially viable, recyclable bioplastic packaging — expect continued focus on PHA production scale-up, advanced surface treatments, and closed-loop recycling systems.

How they like to work

NAFIGATE participates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a technology SME contributing specialized manufacturing know-how to larger demonstration projects. With 71 unique partners across just 3 projects, they operate in large Innovation Action consortia (averaging 24+ partners per project). This suggests they are comfortable working within complex multi-partner setups and are valued for their specific bioplastics expertise rather than project management capacity.

Despite only 3 projects, NAFIGATE has built a wide network of 71 partners across 15 countries, reflecting the large-scale Innovation Action consortia they join. Their reach spans most of the EU, with particularly strong connections to Western and Southern European partners in the circular bioeconomy space.

What sets them apart

NAFIGATE occupies a distinctive niche as a Czech SME with hands-on PHA bioplastics manufacturing capability — not a research lab studying bioplastics in theory, but a company producing them from waste feedstocks. Their involvement across all stages (waste sourcing via WaysTUP!, investment modelling via HOOP, and product development plus recycling via BioSupPack) means they understand the full value chain. For consortium builders, they offer an industry partner who can demonstrate bioplastic production at near-commercial scale using real urban waste streams.

Highlights from their portfolio

• BioSupPack
  Covers the complete bioplastics lifecycle — PHA production, plasma coatings, fatty acid grafting, and enzymatic end-of-life recycling — representing their most technically ambitious involvement.
• WaysTUP!
  Their largest funded project (EUR 212,174) and entry point into H2020, focused on disruptive urban biowaste-to-bioproducts value chains across city contexts.
• HOOP
  Unusual for a manufacturing SME — this project addresses financial engineering and business models for circular bioeconomy, showing commercial maturity beyond pure R&D.