Synthomer awarded R&D funding by Ohio polymer group

London – Synthomer has been awarded two grants through Ohio’s Greater Akron Polymer Innovation Hub for research on polymer innovation.

The grants include one direct R&D grant and one indirect funding both administered by the Akron Polymer Industry Cluster, said Synthomer 7 Jan.

The indirect grant, it noted, supports work with the University of Akron, which focuses on identifying new ways to turn carbon dioxide (CO2) into high-value polymers and butadiene.

The work aims to expand the range of sustainable materials available to the polymer industry.

The direct grant will see the Akron Polymer Industry Cluster investing $8 million (€6.8 million) across key projects in the Ohio region over the next four years.

A focus of the investment will be Plastvancetm, a Synthomer technology which helps food packaging customers to switch from polystyrene to polypropylene for some applications without major changes to their production processes.

The grant is intended to advance adoption of the technology by supporting new applications and key technical performance validation.

The funding, according to Synthomer, represent the first of several funding rounds, with future rounds expected in mid-2026 and early 2027.

In addition to these grants, Synthomer is also linked to two other projects that were selected in this funding round.

These projects will be led by BioVerde and Promerus, two of Synthomer's value chain partners, and focus on the development of sustainable, next-generation materials.