In October 2026, German bioeconomy company Verbio commissioned what is described as the world's first industrial-scale ethenolysis plant, at its site in the Bitterfeld-Wolfen Chemical Park in Saxony-Anhalt. The milestone was announced on November 5 by the Investment and Marketing Corporation Saxony-Anhalt.
Ethenolysis uses ethene and specialised catalysts to rearrange unsaturated hydrocarbons into new chemical compounds. Verbio's plant starts from rapeseed methyl ester — the same feedstock as biodiesel — and is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes a year of bio-based specialty chemicals. Those building blocks can be used to make high-performance lubricants, detergents, cleaning products and bio-based plastics.
The technology traces back to research honoured with the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Verbio's subsidiary XiMo manufactures the specialised catalysts developed by Nobel laureate Richard R. Schrock, which the company says make the process economic at industrial scale.
Why it matters for compostable packaging: much of today's compostable packaging starts from a small set of bio-based building blocks, such as lactic acid for PLA. A new, scaled route from a widely grown crop adds another source of renewable carbon to that supply chain. Verbio has invested almost €100 million in the project, which has created around 50 new jobs at the site.
It is early days — the plant has just started up, and the announcement does not say which specific plastics or packaging grades the output will feed. But the direction is clear: the bio-based chemicals base is widening beyond fuels, and that is worth watching for buyers of bio-based materials.
Disclaimer: Product descriptions, specifications, and certification references in this article are provided for general information. Compostability claims (including ASTM D6400, EN 13432, and GB/T 19277) refer to industrial composting conditions; commercial composting facilities may not be available in all communities. Certifications apply only to the specific products listed in the relevant certificates. For current certification documentation, contact Greenstar@greenstarmaterial.com.