TETRA PAK PACKAGING SOLUTIONS AB

Their core work

Tetra Pak is one of the world's largest food packaging and processing companies, headquartered in Lund, Sweden. In H2020, they contributed industry expertise to research on sustainable packaging materials — particularly enzyme-based recycling of multi-layer plastics and bio-based fibre products. They also participated in advanced imaging research (tomography, electron microscopy) relevant to quality control of packaging materials. Their EU project involvement reflects a strategic interest in next-generation sustainable packaging solutions that could reshape their core product lines.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

With only three projects spanning 2017–2019, Tetra Pak's H2020 trajectory is narrow but shows a clear direction. Early involvement centred on research training networks in fibre materials and advanced imaging techniques. The most recent project (TERMINUS, 2019) shifted decisively toward circular economy themes — enzyme-based recycling, biodegradable polymers, and life-cycle analysis — signalling that sustainability in packaging became their priority R&D interest.

Tetra Pak is moving toward bio-based and recyclable packaging materials, making them a strong partner for circular economy and plastics sustainability projects.

How they like to work

Tetra Pak never coordinated an H2020 project — they participated as a partner or third party in all three, which is typical for large corporations that contribute industry use cases and validation rather than leading research agendas. Their 52 unique partners across 17 countries in just 3 projects indicate involvement in large, multi-national consortia (likely 15–20+ partners each). This suggests they are selective but open to broad European collaboration, offering real-world packaging industry context to academic-led research.

Despite only three projects, Tetra Pak has worked with 52 unique partners across 17 countries, reflecting participation in large EU training networks and research consortia. Their network is geographically diverse across Europe with no visible concentration in a single region.

What sets them apart

Tetra Pak brings something few academic partners can: direct access to real-world multi-layer food packaging challenges at industrial scale. For any research consortium working on sustainable packaging, plastics recycling, or bio-based materials, having Tetra Pak as a partner provides immediate market relevance and a clear exploitation pathway. Their brand weight also strengthens any consortium's credibility with EU evaluators.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TERMINUS
  Directly targets Tetra Pak's core business challenge — recycling multi-layer packaging using enzymes — and is their only project with direct EC funding (EUR 283K).
• MUMMERING
  Advanced 3D/4D imaging and tomography project, showing Tetra Pak's interest in non-destructive testing and material characterisation for quality control.
• FibreNet
  EU-wide training network on bio-based fibre products, positioning Tetra Pak at the intersection of packaging industry needs and next-generation materials research.