QMilk wins Bio-based Material of the Year Innovation Award

Cologne, Germany - QMilk, a young German company that has developed a technology based on casein to produce a 100% biobased textile fiber or granulate, is proving itself a winner. Out of a field of seven nominees, the company triumphed at this year's Bio-based Material of the Year Innovation Award, winning by an "overwhelming majority," said Michael Carus of Nova-Institut, the organizer of the International Conference on Bio-based Materials at which the award is presented. "QMilk left the competition far behind, eating dust, as it were." [Ed. Note: Click here to view the PlasticsToday slideshow of all the nominees].

Each year, a specialized jury picks the nominees. The ultimate winners are chosen by the attendees of the conference at the close of the first day.

Germany-based Fischerwerke, took second place with its newly developed biobased 'green' injection mortar, while third place was shared by Zinco, a German company specialized in green roofs, and Hemp Eco Systems, a Swiss manufacturer of hemp-based insulation.

As Leonie Völsgen of QMilk joked on accepting the award: "We should build a house made of hemp, under a green roof, hang up our pictures using Fisherwerke's green mortar, and sleep on luxuriously soft sheets woven from QMilk fibers."

The award, which was presented this year for the seventh time, recognizes innovative, bio-based products and technologies that have been (or will be) launched on the market in 2013 and 2014. This time around, the competition focused exclusively on developments in Europe.

Interestingly, three of the four winners came from the building and construction industry. In fact, as Zinco pointed out, "We want to, and indeed are going to be using huge quantities of bioplastics for our products from now on."

Will construction indeed shape up to be one of the more promising areas for bioplastics applications in the future? Like packaging, it's an area that offers enormous potential as regards demand and volumes; unlike packaging, it is only just starting to explore the possibilities.

If this award is anything to go by, the outlook at least is looking good.