OLAX 22 SL

Their core work

OLAX 22 SL is a Spanish SME focused on sustainable materials and circular economy solutions for the packaging industry, with particular expertise in biobased and biodegradable adhesives used in multilayer plastic structures. Their work addresses one of the packaging sector's hardest problems: making complex multi-material packaging either recyclable or compostable without sacrificing performance. They contributed specialist technical knowledge to two complementary H2020 projects — one redesigning multilayer packaging from the ground up using sustainable adhesive systems, and one enabling recovery of printed plastic waste through water-based deinking. As a third-party contributor in both cases, they likely brought proprietary materials, formulations, or industrial testing capacity that the formal consortium partners needed but could not supply themselves.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

All visible H2020 activity is concentrated in 2019, so there is no meaningful temporal evolution to extract from this dataset — both projects began in the same year and address closely related problems. What can be said is that OLAX 22 SL approached sustainable packaging from two angles simultaneously: upstream (biobased adhesives and recyclable packaging design in MANDALA) and downstream (recovering value from existing printed plastic waste in PLASTDEINK). This dual focus suggests a coherent, commercially motivated strategy around the packaging circular economy rather than opportunistic project participation.

With both projects addressing circular packaging from complementary angles — new material design and end-of-life recovery — any future collaboration would most naturally extend into biobased coatings, compostable laminates, or industrial-scale plastic sorting and recycling processes.

How they like to work

OLAX 22 SL has participated exclusively as a third party in both recorded H2020 projects, meaning they provided specific resources or expertise under a subcontract arrangement rather than holding a formal beneficiary role. This is common among industrial SMEs that contribute proprietary materials, pilot-scale manufacturing, or application testing to research consortia without exposing their IP as a named partner. Despite this limited formal role, their two projects involved 12 distinct consortium partners across 5 countries, which reflects well-networked consortia rather than isolated bilateral work.

Twelve unique partners across five countries from just two projects indicates that OLAX 22 SL joined well-structured, multi-partner consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. Their geographic footprint is European, which is notable for an SME located in the small municipality of Alfarrasi in the Valencia region of Spain.

What sets them apart

OLAX 22 SL occupies a narrow but commercially relevant niche at the intersection of adhesive chemistry and sustainable packaging — an area where industrial know-how matters as much as academic research. Their third-party status in both projects is a signal worth noting: it suggests they possess proprietary formulations or manufacturing processes that consortia sought out specifically, rather than simply filling a generic industrial partner slot. For consortium builders in the food packaging, pharma packaging, or bioeconomy space, they represent access to an industrial SME with hands-on materials expertise that complements the research capabilities of universities and institutes.

Highlights from their portfolio

• MANDALA
  Targets the systemic replacement of conventional multilayer packaging adhesives with biobased and biodegradable alternatives across both food and pharma markets — a high-impact industrial challenge with clear regulatory tailwinds from EU packaging legislation.
• PLASTDEINK
  Addresses plastic waste recycling through a water-based deinking and delamination process, directly enabling the mechanical recyclability of surface-printed plastics that currently end up in landfill or incineration.