Emirates Biotech joins Circle consortium to turn food waste into PLA

Emirates Biotech, a Dubai-based manufacturer of polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers, has joined the Circle consortium, €27 million ($31 million) European initiative funded by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking under the Horizon Europe program, aimed at converting organic food waste into bio-based chemicals like PLA.

The four-year project brings together 17 partners across the value chain, from waste management firms to chemical technology providers and global consumer brands. Emirates Biotech says it will manage the polymerization of lactic acid derived from food waste to produce high-purity PLA, which will then be supplied to consortium partners for evaluation and application development. The project plans to produce different PLA grades for markets including automotive, cosmetics and food packaging.

The consortium is coordinated by Belgian chemical manufacturing company TripleW and includes partners such as Volkswagen, FrieslandCampina, Davines, Sulzer and Sulapac. In September 2025, the consortium says it produced the world’s first lab-scale PLA made entirely from food waste.

According to Emirates Biotech, the company’s involvement aims to advance that breakthrough toward industrial-scale production, which is says aligns with a planned PLA plant in 2028.

“Proving that we can derive high-performance biopolymers directly from food waste is a major step forward for the industry,” François de Bie, chief commercial officer of Emirates Biotech, says. “Demand for sustainable materials is growing quickly in sectors like automotive and cosmetics. Our role in the Circle project is to convert polymer-grade lactic acid produced by our partners into commercial-grade PLA that meets those standards and can be used in existing manufacturing processes.”