Bio-based composite stopper

SPANISH research institute Tecnalia has developed a new material to replace plastic and cork as stoppers for wine bottles. The new composite, called PLACOTOP, is a hybrid between the natural cork and a largely bio-based plastic.  Two other research teams are collaborating on the Spanish project, funded in part by the European Commission. Tecnalia develops trial stoppers and carries out the basic physical and mechanical testing. A French team at Rescoll-Societé de Recherche tests the chemical and sensory properties of the stoppers, and Plásticos Urteta of Spain is manufacturing and commercialising the product.

Tecnalia says the new material offers a number of advantages, such as a lower price than cork, less density, less extracting effort and better environmental performance than the plastic stoppers, with the plastic material being partially substituted by materials obtained from biomass. The new material also helps save cork trees, the raw material for cork.

Plastic stoppers today account for only 13% of the total market, but are expected to increase in market share up to 50% over the next ten years.