EIB and PackBenefit have signed a €13m venture debt agreement to finance a new production plant, as well as research and development projects for sustainable food packaging solutions. The financing, in combination with equity funding from Circularity Capital, will enable PackBenefit to expand its manufacturing capacity of recyclable and compostable food trays for the European market. The EIB loan is guaranteed by the European Commission’s research and innovation programme.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support PackBenefit with a €13 million venture debt loan to expand the company’s manufacturing capacity of recyclable and compostable food trays to meet growing global demand for high-performance sustainable packaging solutions.

Alongside supporting RDI activities, the EIB financing will be used to back the construction of PackBenefit’s second commercial-scale food tray production plant in Aldeamayor de San Martin, Valladolid, Spain, which will allow the company to manufacture an additional 180 million trays per year (ca. 4,500 metric tons). PackBenefit has developed and patented an innovative technology to convert virgin pulp, from EU Forest Stewardship Council certified sources, into recyclable and compostable food trays via a unique hydraulic thermoforming press.