IIT Madras Launches BioPack Centre to Advance Indigenous Biodegradable Packaging Technologies

India has strengthened its push toward sustainable materials with the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence on Biodegradable Packaging Materials, or BioPack, at IIT Madras on August 25, 2026. The new centre is designed to advance research, innovation and capacity building in environmentally friendly packaging technologies that could reduce dependence on conventional petroleum-based plastics.

The BioPack Centre was inaugurated by Tejveer Singh, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, during the first edition of CHEMCONNECT 2026 at IIT Madras. The event brought together more than 200 researchers, entrepreneurs, industry representatives, start-ups and academic institutions, creating a platform for moving technologies developed in laboratories toward commercial deployment.

BioPack will focus on developing the scientific and technological capabilities needed for a new generation of eco-friendly packaging materials. Such materials could eventually find applications across food processing, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce and industrial packaging, sectors where conventional plastic remains widely used because of its low cost, durability and ease of manufacture.

The initiative forms part of a wider effort by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to establish Centres of Excellence linking academic research with industrial requirements. CHEMCONNECT itself has been designed to connect these research centres directly with companies, start-ups, MSMEs and investors interested in licensing, commercialising or scaling indigenous technologies. Technologies, prototypes and patents from the department-supported Centres of Excellence were showcased during the programme.

A major challenge for biodegradable packaging is moving beyond promising laboratory materials to products that can match conventional plastics in strength, shelf life, moisture resistance, manufacturability and cost. IIT Madras’ research ecosystem gives BioPack an opportunity to work across materials science, chemical engineering and manufacturing while engaging industry early in the development process.

The centre also fits into India’s broader strategy of developing domestic technologies instead of relying heavily on imported materials and processes. At CHEMCONNECT, the government emphasised industry-academia collaboration, import substitution and commercialisation of indigenous research, with IIT Madras also proposing a reverse-pitching model in which companies bring real industrial problems directly to researchers.