Tetra Pak is accelerating its shift toward lower-carbon packaging with a €60 million, or roughly $65 million, investment in a new pilot plant in Lund, Sweden. The facility is designed to scale a paper-based barrier that can replace the aluminium layer traditionally used in aseptic beverage cartons, marking a significant step in reducing lifecycle emissions while improving recyclability.

The investment reflects intensifying regulatory and investor pressure on packaging systems to cut carbon footprints, increase renewable content, and deliver clearer end-of-life outcomes across global food and beverage value chains.

Replacing Aluminium With Fibre-Led Design

Tetra Pak’s paper-based barrier technology increases the paper content of beverage cartons to around 80 percent. When combined with plant-based polymers, total renewable content can reach as high as 92 percent. According to the company, this configuration can reduce the carton’s carbon footprint by up to 43 percent compared with conventional aseptic formats.

Moving away from aluminium is central to this strategy. Aluminium production is energy intensive, and its recovery from multi-layer packaging can be challenging in many recycling systems. By simplifying carton structures from three core materials to two, paper and polymers, Tetra Pak aims to improve fibre recovery rates and generate higher-quality secondary materials for recyclers.

This design shift is particularly relevant as extended producer responsibility regimes expand across Europe and other markets, with packaging fees increasingly linked to carbon intensity and recyclability performance.

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Lund as a Commercialisation Hub

The pilot plant will be located at Tetra Pak’s Lund site, which already hosts advanced research and development capabilities. The location offers proximity to academic partners such as Lund University and access to testing infrastructure including the MAX IV Laboratory, strengthening the company’s ability to refine materials that must meet stringent food safety, shelf-life, and logistics requirements.

Joakim Tuvesson, Vice President Materials and Package at Tetra Pak, said the facility is intended to move innovation closer to customer adoption. He noted that expanding production capacity and strengthening partnerships would allow more customers to trial and transition to the paper-based barrier, with the first customers expected to be onboarded in early 2027.

From Pilot to Market Readiness

The €60 million investment forms part of Tetra Pak’s broader plan to invest around €100 million annually through 2030 in packaging innovation. The company has already taken early commercial steps, launching the world’s first aseptic beverage carton with a paper-based barrier in 2023 in partnership with a Portuguese dairy producer. That launch was recognised with a Resource Efficiency award at the Sustainable Packaging News Awards in 2024, signalling early market validation.

The new pilot plant will allow food and beverage producers to test the material across the full production process, from barrier manufacturing to filled packaging. This in-plant testing is designed to reduce technical risk for brands that must balance decarbonisation goals with strict cost, safety, and performance requirements.

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Policy Pressure and Strategic Timing

Packaging innovation is increasingly shaped by regulation. European Union initiatives are tightening rules around packaging waste, recyclability, and material traceability, while food and beverage companies face rising scrutiny over Scope 3 emissions, plastic use, and circularity metrics.

Low-carbon packaging solutions that preserve aseptic performance are particularly important in regions where cold-chain infrastructure is limited. Aluminium foil replacements have historically struggled to meet barrier requirements at scale. If fibre-based barriers prove reliable in commercial conditions, they could influence packaging standards across dairy, juice, and shelf-stable categories in emerging and developed markets alike.

What the Market Will Watch Next

For corporate leaders, the key questions will centre on cost competitiveness with aluminium barriers, improvements in real-world recycling yields, and the strength of lifecycle data supporting climate disclosures. Investors are likely to assess whether renewable content and circular design translate into regulatory advantages and stronger brand positioning as packaging becomes a more visible ESG issue.

With customer trials expected from 2027, Tetra Pak’s pilot plant timeline aligns closely with upcoming regulatory cycles in Europe, expanding producer responsibility schemes in the United States, and global negotiations on plastics and packaging waste. If successful, paper-based barriers could establish a new reference point for climate-aligned packaging in global food systems, reinforcing the role of materials innovation in long-term sustainability strategies.

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