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HYDRA Marine Sciences

Biodegradable Materials

and how to avoid Persistent Microplastics

in the Environment

 

The HYDRA Research & Test Center has answers.

Built on more than three decades of experience in environmental research, HYDRA has accumulated a wealth of expertise in testing the performance of biodegradable polymers and plastic products in marine, freshwater and soil ecosystems. Together with academic partners, industry, public institutions, and NGOs we are involved in research projects, contracts, workshops, expert hearings, public outreach and the development of international standard tests.

 

RECOGNIZED LAB

HYDRA Marine Sciences is the first testing laboratory (PL340) recognized for the testing for DIN CERTCO’s certifications 'BIODEGRADABLE IN MARINE ENVIRONMENT' and 'BIODEGRADABLE IN MARINE ENVIRONMENT plus'.

 
 

Contact us

➤ LOCATION

HYDRA Marine Sciences GmbH
Steinfeldweg 15
77815 Bühl, Germany

☎ CONTACT

info(at)hydramarinesciences.com
+49 7223 99 49 560

Awarded for our research and innovation work

 
 

Our Services


Testing Biodegradable Materials according to Standards and for Certification

testing Biodegradation across environments - on lab, mesocosm and Field scale

We test biodegradability and disintegration under marine, freshwater and soil conditions.

We perform ecotoxicity tests for the aquatic environment and, through our partners, also for soil and compost.

We conduct the full testing for the certificate “Biodegradable in the marine environment” by DIN CERTCO, including the PLUS certification.


Customized tests and Non-Standard testing for Material research and Screening

The development in the field of biodegradable plastics is rapid and HYDRA helps material manufacturers, converters and users to keep up.

Our screening tests support your innovation at an early stage in the development of new materials. New material applications may require adaptations of existing or new methods. We work closely with our customers to turn test requirements into reality. Together with you, we design a customized research strategy for solutions, iteratively and cost-efficiently.

Our multi-tier testing provides environmentally relevant data that feed into a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) for biodegradable polymers and plastic products, evaluating their environmental risks and benefits compared to, for example, non-biodegradable plastics.



Conceptualization and Consulting

Conceptual models are an excellent tool for structuring complex topics and deriving your further strategy. For your specific case, we support you with our knowledge and create a model for your needs.

We help at various levels: We offer seminars, webinars and workshops to get you started with the topic of biodegradation. To get the scientific data for your project quickly, we help you with the research strategy and implementation. We support you with communication and implementation to ensure that the message gets across.

We are committed to the Circular, Safe & Sustainable by Design approach, ideally from the early stages of material or product development.

Visualization, Documentation and communication

A picture is worth a thousand words. Trivial? But so true! We help you visualize the environmental biodegradation of your material or product.

We document our work so that you can show it to your customers to better explain your efforts.

We help you with your communication strategy and support it with targeted visualization and scientific facts.

 

 
 
With our multi-tier testing scheme we assess environmental fate as well as impact, risk and benefit of biodegradable plastics
— Dr. Miriam Weber
 

Selected Projects

The EU Project REBIOLUTION (2023-2026) which received a partial funding of 5 million € under grant agreement n.101082040 unites 9 partners from all over Europe. REBIOLUTION aims to design and synthetize novel fully bio-based and biodegradable polyester blends based on 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and other bio-based monomers fit for specific product-market applications. HYDRA is the responsible partner for biodegradation testing in marine and freshwater environments and with this supports the design and optimization of these novel materials from the beginning.