Promateris obtains new funding from Norwegian grants and continues to invest in the company’s sustainable development

Promateris obtains new funding from Norwegian grants and continues to invest in the company’s sustainable development

Promateris, the Romanian industrial group and leader in Central and Eastern Europe in producing biodegradable and compostable packaging, announces obtaining a new grant from EEA & Norway Grants within the “Green energy production for bio-based and compostable packaging production” project. Promateris develops the project in partnership with the Norwegian company Norsk Energi. The project aims to implement a photovoltaic system of 1mwp at the company’s plant in Buftea, Ilfov County. This project will help Promateris’ transition to green energy by replacing traditional fossil fuel energy with solar energy. The investment value amounts to approximately 1 million euros, of which 597,000 euros are non-reimbursable Norwegian funds.

In 2019, we started the decarbonization of Promateris, a project developed in several stages: the first one was the development of a new generation of bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable packaging. Therefore, in a period of only three years, we managed to implement a series of measures to decarbonize the company, such as: 100% recycling of industrial waste, local integration of raw material production, product eco-design, the manufacturing of bio-based and compostable packaging instead of the traditional polyethylene packaging. This new project aims to replace the use of traditional energy in the production process with energy from renewable resources. Our commitment to the environment is solid, and this project will bring us even closer to our goal of manufacturing packaging with the lowest carbon footprint in the entire CEE market,” stated Tudor Georgescu, CEO of Promateris.

The project developed by Promateris together with Norsk Energi is expected to be completed in May 2023. The photovoltaic system that will be installed at the Promateris plant will bring significant savings for the company. The green energy obtained will be used to produce bio-based and compostable packaging and represent approximately 19% of Promateris’ energy needs. The system will protect the company from changing electricity rates and reduce its dependency on external energy sources.

The green energy produced by the photovoltaic system will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 341,053 tons/year, which is in line with EU and national regulations and targets, contributing to the EU’s strategy of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

For Promateris, this project will help increase the company’s competitiveness and improve its product portfolio, further reducing the carbon footprint of the Buftea plant. This will facilitate Promateris’ expansion into new markets in the CEE region.

The benefits of this project will be reflected in the next 5 years in the reduction of 5.703.240 kWh fossil fuel-based energy and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 1,705,265 tons.

This is Promateris’ third project to be carried out with Norwegian funds. In June 2021, the company completed the first project – “Green Europe – Efficient technologies for manufacturing innovative and environmentally friendly products.” The project had a value of 2.6 million euros, of which the value of the grant was 950,000 euros, and aimed at the development of innovative products made of bio-plastic based on corn starch. The second project developed by the company was “Decarbonizing the local economy by manufacturing bio-based products.” The total investment amounted to 1.6 million euros, of which the value of the grant was 744,000 euros. The project will be completed in October 2022 and targets the production of biodegradable and compostable raw material based on corn starch in the Buftea factory. Following the completion of this project, Promateris will become the first company in Eastern Europe to produce raw materials based on corn starch.

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About Promateris

Promateris (BVB: PPL) is a company listed on the Main Market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Promateris specializes in state-of-the-art packaging made from renewable, biodegradable and compostable materials. In the Buftea factory, the company produces sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic, such as a wide range of bags for retail (T-shirt bags, fruit and vegetable bags, bio-waste bin liners). Promateris operates three business lines: Bio-based and compostable packaging, which produce packaging made from renewable resources, bioplastic recycling, through which it recycles residual waste to be reintroduced into the production process; Electrical cable compounds, through which granules for the production of electrical cables are developed and manufactured.

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