INMA seminar: Søren Hvilsted, from the Technical University of Denmark
Seminar: Can biobased plastics replace their fossil analogues?
Speaker: Prof. Dr Søren Hvilsted (Technical University of Denmark – DTU)
Date: 8 June 2026
Time: 12:00
Venue: Assembly Hall, Faculty of Science and Geology Building
Event summary: Global plastic production is currently increasing at a worrying rate, creating a paradox where 80% of the total annual production is discarded. This talk addresses the “plastic utopia” and explores biopolymers and biobased plastics as essential alternatives to traditional fossil-based materials.
During the session, Professor Hvilsted will analyse:
- Successful plastic recycling cases from Denmark and Kenya.
- The transition of major corporations, such as the Danish toy company LEGO, towards biobased materials.
- Advancements in research into new biobased monomers through the STEPS (Sustainable Polymers and Transition Pathways) project.
- The current state of development for PEF as a sustainable analogue to conventional PET.
About the speaker: Søren Hvilsted is a Danish polymer chemist and chemical engineer who earned his PhD from the Technical University of Denmark. He served as a Professor of Polymer Chemistry at DTU from 2000 to 2018, following postdoctoral research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and leadership roles at various research institutes. His expertise covers advanced polymer materials, including fluoropolymers, biofunctional coatings, and fuel-cell materials.
Organisers: the Aragon Nanoscience and Materials Institute (INMA), CSIC-UNIZAR.
