16 May 2025

Ecohelix is a biotechnology and engineering company. Its technology utilizes natural process of wood formation, harnessing the enzymatic process to create high performing polymers. Ecohelix biopolymers can replace oil and food-based components in packaging, construction and textile industry products creating highly sustainable, emission reducing products.

Its WOODMER^® Seal product was recently honoured with the Green Product Award 2025 in the Packaging category during the award ceremony on May 15^th at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin. Embassy envoys and jurors such as Uwe Melichar (Touch Design Ltd.), Prof. Claus-Christian Eckhardt (Lund University), Katja Keienburg (baby&junior) presented the awards to winners from Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

The Green Product Award, now in its 12th edition, saw over 1500 submissions from 45 countries. In co-operation with IKEA Stiftung, Green Product Award evaluates concepts by young designers and supports their further development. WOODMER^® Seal stood out amongst the finalists in the packaging category after a rigorous evaluation based on design, innovation, and sustainability.

WOODMER^® Seal is a revolutionary bio-based heat seal coating derived from renewable wood biomass. It presents a significantly greener alternative to traditional plastic coatings, offering a remarkable emission reduction. Beyond its environmental benefits, WOODMER^® Seal delivers high performance, ensuring strong and reliable heat seals for a wide range of non-food packaging applications, including e-commerce, industrial, and agricultural packaging.

The Green Product Award jury lauded WOODMER^® Seal, stating: “Made from renewable wood biomass, WOODMER^® Seal offers a greener alternative to conventional plastic coatings with an impressive reduction in emissions of up to 90%. The impactful and performance-oriented monomaterial enabler fulfills or exceeds industry requirements and is ready for the non-food applications.”

WOODMER^® Seal's innovative nature contributes to the development of more sustainable packaging solutions that can improve material circularity and reduce waste. As a proof point, WOODMER Seal received 100/100 recyclability score in CEPI Standard Mill Test. This sustainable and high-performing heat seal coating empowers businesses to meet evolving market demands and increasingly stringent regulatory requirements for more eco-friendly packaging solutions.

Petri Oinonen, CEO and Founder of Ecohelix, commented on the award: "Winning the Green Product Award is a tremendous honour and a powerful validation of our innovation mindset and the years of persistent research that led to the creation of WOODMER^® Seal. This achievement is a tribute to the fantastic teamwork within Ecohelix and our close collaboration with industry partners. We are incredibly excited about the potential of WOODMER^® Seal to be applied in various packaging applications, significantly reducing the reliance on plastics and fostering greater sustainability".

 

Ecohelix is co-funded by the Horizon 2020 programme of the European Union. Company has also received funding from the Bio Based Industries (BBI) Joint Undertaking (JU) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 837866.