Tetra Pak commits US$71M to pilot plant advancing paper-based carton barriers

SWEDEN – Tetra Pak is investing €60 million (US$71.26m) to build a pilot plant dedicated to its paper-based barrier technologies, a move that underscores the company’s push to reduce reliance on aluminium and fossil-based materials in aseptic cartons.

The facility will be located in Lund, Sweden, leveraging the region’s strong research ecosystem, collaboration opportunities with Lund University, and access to advanced testing infrastructure at the MAX IV Laboratory.

The pilot plant is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2027 and will serve as a critical bridge between laboratory development and industrial-scale deployment.

According to Tetra Pak, the paper-based barrier solution can raise paper content in an aseptic carton to around 80%.

When paired with plant-based polymers, total renewable content can reach up to 92%, while cutting the carton’s carbon footprint by as much as 43% compared with conventional structures.

The elimination of aluminium foil is also expected to improve recyclability by maximising fibre recovery and yielding higher-quality paper and non-fibre fractions.

Beyond technology validation, the Lund pilot plant will offer customers end-to-end visibility into the manufacturing process, from barrier creation and packaging material production to converting and filling finished cartons.

This transparency is designed to accelerate customer confidence and adoption as brand owners respond to tightening sustainability targets and regulatory pressure.

The investment forms part of Tetra Pak’s wider commitment to spend approximately €100 million (US$118.76m) on sustainability-focused packaging solutions by 2030.

“By expanding our facilities and strengthening strategic partnerships, we aim to make our innovative paper-based barrier accessible to more customers, accelerating their transition to sustainable packaging materials,” said Joakim Tuvesson, vice president Materials & Package at Tetra Pak.

Tetra Pak has already been collaborating with partners to bring paper-based barriers closer to market, including work with Nissha Metallizing Solutions on aseptic beverage cartons and with Spain’s García Carrión on juice packaging formats.

These trials reflect a broader industry trend toward mono-material or fibre-rich structures that align with recycling infrastructure and extended producer responsibility schemes.

Parallel to material innovation, Tetra Pak has been investing in recycling infrastructure.

In September last year, the company committed US$1.8 million to AI-powered optical sorting technology at Levenseat Resource Management’s materials recycling facility in Central Scotland.

The Recycleye QuantiSort system uses cameras and artificial intelligence to identify food and beverage cartons within mixed waste streams before ejecting them pneumatically for further processing, expanding recovery capacity across regions including Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dumbartonshire.

Together, the Lund pilot plant and recycling investments signal Tetra Pak’s dual-track strategy: redesigning cartons for lower environmental impact while strengthening the systems needed to recover them at scale.

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