Tetra Pak has announced a €60 million investment in a new owned pilot plant dedicated to advancing its paper-based barrier technology, marking a significant step towards the next generation of sustainable food and beverage packaging. The pilot plant will be established at the company’s facility in Lund, Sweden, and will accelerate the development of innovative aseptic carton materials that eliminate the need for traditional aluminium foil layers.
The new technology replaces aluminium with a paper-based barrier, increasing the paper content in cartons to approximately 80%. When combined with plant-based polymers, the solution raises the traceable renewable content of a carton to as much as 92%, resulting in a carbon footprint reduction of up to 43%. By simplifying the packaging structure from three materials to two — paper and polymers — Tetra Pak also anticipates enhanced recyclability, including improved fibre recovery and higher-quality paper and non-paper fractions during recycling.
The Lund pilot plant will play a critical role in scaling this innovation, offering customers end-to-end insights across the entire manufacturing process, from barrier creation and packaging material development to filled package production. Lund was selected for the facility due to its strong research ecosystem, close collaboration with Lund University, and access to advanced testing infrastructure at the MAX IV Laboratory.
Commenting on the development, Joakim Tuvesson, vice president materials & package at Tetra Pak, said the investment underlines the company’s commitment to making sustainable packaging solutions more accessible to customers worldwide. He added that the pilot plant will help accelerate customer transitions to low-carbon packaging alternatives, with production expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
The investment aligns with Tetra Pak’s broader sustainability strategy, under which the company plans to invest approximately €100 million annually until 2030 in sustainable packaging development. Notably, Tetra Pak launched the world’s first aseptic beverage carton with a paper-based barrier in 2023 in partnership with a Portuguese dairy producer — an innovation that earned the company the Resource Efficiency Award at the Sustainable Packaging News Awards 2024.
With this latest investment, Tetra Pak continues to strengthen its leadership in sustainable packaging innovation while supporting the food industry’s transition towards a lower-carbon future.