International congress on the future of the plastics industry
on June 17th, 2025

in Halle (Saale), Germany and on live stream for free

Bio-based and biodegradable plastics are changing the world. Are you an expert in this field? Or would you like to find out more about these materials? Then become part of our global community now!

Partner 2025

Poland
Partner country 2025

Poland will be our partner country this year, it will be the start of the of the strategic collaboration of the POLYKUM e.V. and PKTK for the knowledge and technology transfer in the field of biopolymers. The goals are to educate the industry about the properties and challenges of biopolymers and to create partnerships in this area. The Polish Cluster of Composite Technologies (PKTK) was established in October 2017 in Kraków and constitutes a platform for cooperation of entities operating in the field of composite technologies, including universities and scientific, research or development units as well as entrepreneurs, inventors, business environment units and other interested persons or institutions. Currently the cluster has over 100 members.

Our second Polish partner is the AHK. The German-Polish Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Poland), based in Warsaw, is the bilateral chamber with the largest number of members in Poland. It represents the interests of almost 1200 member companies and has been promoting German-Polish economic relations for 30 years. The AHK Poland has a Poland-wide network of regional offices in Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk. Membership includes in particular: invitations to numerous business meetings, access to exclusive information, promotion of your company among other Chamber member companies and numerous additional services. The Chamber's 60-strong team is available to companies involved in bilateral trade in both countries. It offers companies from Germany and Poland a professional advisory service and promotes the exchange of information and experience as well as the development of relations with institutions on both sides of the Oder.

 

 

Program
11th of June, 2024
The 2025 program will follow shortly

Welcome!

08:00 - 08:05 am

A warm welcome from Polykum e.V. 

Peter Putsch
Chairman
Polykum e.V.

08:05 - 08:10 am

Greetings from the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt

Dr. Reiner Haseloff
Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt

Partner Country

08:10 - 08:30 am

Queensland - Germany: partnership and opportunities

Henriette Pook
Director of Research
Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ)

08:30 - 09:00 am

Keynote: Polyhydroxyalkanoate advancements - polymer modification, blends, composites and end of life

Prof. Bronwyn Laycock
Professor in Chemical Engineering
The University of Queensland

09:00 - 09:30 am

Shifting the paradigm: Developing cost effective biopolymer products

Alec Foster
Bioproducts and Packaging Portfolio Lead
scion research New Zealand

09:30 - 10:00 am

Uluu: seaweed-derived PHAs to replace plastic at scale

Michael Kingsbury
Co-founder and co-CEO
Uluu

10:00 - 10:30 am

Coffee Break 

Biopolymers and Additives

Session 1

10:30 - 11:00

Stabilisation and colouring of biopolymers biogenic by-products

Dr. Mirko Rennert
Owner
Twins Crew GmbH

11:00 - 11:30 am

Bio2compound – continous processing of microscale functional fibers into biobased binder systems

Jörg Dörrstein
Managing Director
Biofibre

11:30 - 12:00 pm

Biopolymer Injection Moulding Technology

Timo Günzel
CTO
BOLE Intelligent Machinery

12:00 - 12:45 pm

Lunch Break 

Biopolymer Recycling Solutions

Session 2

12:45 - 1:15 pm

Controllability of plastic recyclates/ biopolymers - with cavity pressure

Thomas Koch
Team sales/ Application
Kistler Intrumente GmbH

1:15 - 1:45 pm

Recycled post-consumer textile waste as reinforcement filler for plastic composites

Illia Krasnou
Senior researcher
Taltech

1:45 - 2:15 pm

Advancements in Recycling Technologies for Bio-based PBS Materials

Dr. Patrick Hirsch
Group Leader “Sustainable Materials and Processes
Fraunhofer IMWS

2:15 - 2:30 pm

Coffee Break

Biodegradation

Session 3

2:30 - 3:00 pm

BIOMER - bio degredable waxes

Thomas Stöbe
Site Manager
DEUREX AG

3:00 - 3:30 pm

Certification for a sustainable future - relevant certifications for bioplastics

Yunus Emre Altunay
Product Manager
DIN CERTCO

3:30 - 3:45 pm

Coffee Break

Award presentation ceremony

Session 4

3:45 - 4:30 pm

Award announcement

The winners of the year present their innovations.

4:30 - 5:00 pm

Laudatory speech and award ceremony

5:00 pm

End of the event

Ticket-Shop
Onsite-Tickets

BIOPOLYMER
Innovation Award

The handmade trophies will be awarded for the sixth time in 2025 by the non-profit association POLYKUM. Previous winners have come from Italy, Finland, Belgium, Brazil and Germany. The projects honored by the independent jury demonstrate how biodegradable plastics can be used to break new ground in the packaging industry, the leisure sector, construction, medicine and technical applications, for example.

Applications for 2025 can be submitted now.

Find out more about the award and the previous winners on our award page. 

BIOPOLYMER Innovation Award

Call for Papers

Bio-based and biodegradable plastics are changing the world. If you are already working with these materials of the future, share your experience - with your presentation to people from over 40 countries!

Submit paper

Sponsors & Organizers

Sponsors

Organizers

Contact
Newsletter

Contact

Fördergemeinschaft für Polymerentwicklung und Kunststofftechnik
Peter Putsch
Brandisstraße 4
06217 Merseburg
Germany

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The Association for the Promotion of Polymer Development and Plastics Technology in Central Germany - POLYKUM e. V. sees its most important task in promoting the transfer of knowledge, innovation and technology and the cooperation of small and medium-sized companies in particular with each other and with science along the value chain. The diverse activities and measures for this include maintaining regular contact with members, organizing workshops and scientific events on industry-specific topics, and organizing joint stands at regional and international trade fairs.
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PLASTVERARBEITER

is the leading trade magazine for decision-makers in plastics processing and offers practical, well-founded information for specialists and managers in plastics processing, mechanical engineering, tool and mold making as well as for raw material suppliers. The magazine supports the implementation of cost- and resource-efficient production and helps to identify new market opportunities.

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