An industrial components manufacturer is advancing the development of new bioplastic materials, including seaweed, in an effort to create more sustainable products.

Essentra PLC conducted 19 trials from 14 different materials at the organisation's new Centre of Excellence in Kidlington.

In the first six months of operating, 52 individual product samples and nine individual SKUs have been developed using alternative materials.

A standout innovation includes ongoing trials to develop flexible, seaweed-derived bioplastics, in collaboration with business start-up FlexSea.

The unique material is 100% bio-based and can be composted at home, raising industry standards for bioplastics.

Besides seaweed, other materials are also being trialled including different types of bio-woods, polylactic acids (PLAs) and nylons.

These include post-industrial recycled (PIR) nylons and several low-density polyethylenes (LDPE) drawn from PIR and post-consumer recycled (PCR) sources.

Products that have been recycled at least once are also undergoing trials.

Prior to the trials, investments are made to ensure ethical sourcing and procurement of new materials, and to confirm their technical viability and safety in the moulding process.

Materials that pass these initial stages are scrutinised for their product performance and then commercial viability, supply chain feasibility and true environmental impact.

Jennifer Spence, environmental, social and governance director at Essentra PLC, said: "We continue to receive requests from customers around the sustainability aspects of our products, which is why we go into so much detail before the start of any trials into where the products have come from and how a material performs at the end of its life.

"The Centre of Excellence is not only driving the development of new and more sustainable products, but also directly contributing to our scope three emission targets in line with our environment, social and governance responsibilities and ambition towards achieving net-zero in our operations by 2040 and across our value chain by 2050.”

More information can be found on Essentra PLC's website at https://www.essentraplc.com/.