Neste develops new line of bio-attributed lab tubes

Iranpolymer/Baspar Neste, the Finnish oil refining company that is in the process of reinventing itself, has taken another step in that direction. It has now partnered with Eppendorf, a German manufacturer and supplier of laboratory equipment, to develop lab products made with renewable raw materials.

The companies created a new line of renewable plastic lab consumables called Eppendorf Consumables BioBased. The portfolio comprises Eppendorf Tubes with screw caps and epT.I.P.S. BioBased filter pipette tips, made of polypropylene with renewable raw materials, like used cooking oil, attributed through a mass balance approach. Neste’s 100% renewable feedstock, called Neste RE, is used to produce the tubes, while the screw caps and pipette tips are made in cooperation with other suppliers.

Neste says the lab tubes perform exactly the same as their oil-based counterparts, whilst reducing the product’s carbon footprint. Using bio-attributed plastic will help the life science industry reduce emissions from its considerable consumption of single-use plastics.

“Laboratory applications come with high quality requirements for the materials used,” said Maria Carcolé, head of brand owner management at Neste Renewable Polymers and Chemicals. “The cooperation with Eppendorf shows that despite these requirements, a transition to more sustainable materials is already possible. It just takes will and cooperation to get there.”

The companies are already considering extending the partnership in other ways. They are evaluating options to chemically recycle Eppendorf’s lab consumables and use recycled content to manufacture the lab products, for example.

This June, Neste announced a €111 million investment to upgrade its liquefied plastic waste facilities at its Porvoo refinery in Finland.

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