Releaf Paper opens leaf-to-paper pilot in France with EIC support

Releaf Paper, an EIC Accelerator beneficiary founded in Ukraine in 2021, has launched its pilot production line and Innovation Centre in Les Mureaux in the Île-de-France region. The company converts urban green waste such as fallen leaves into pulp and recyclable paper packaging. The pilot facility is described by the company and some press coverage as a transformative step for sustainable materials and circular urban resource use. The project is presented as a €3.5 million total investment with co-financing from the European Innovation Council.

Origins, leadership and relocation

The idea began with a researcher exploring leaf fibres and a business founder willing to commercialise the concept. Releaf Paper was established through the collaboration of CEO Alexander Sobolenko and technologist Valentyn Frechka. The company developed its core process in Ukraine. After Russia’s military attack, Releaf relocated operations to France where it has set up a pilot line and secured early customers. The move reflects both geopolitical pressures and a strategic decision to operate within a large, regulation-friendly European market where end consumer demand for greener packaging is rising.

Technology claims and how leaf pulp differs from conventional pulping

The company asserts its process offers large reductions in energy and water use compared with conventional pulping. Releaf also points to an intrinsic carbon advantage because leaves absorb CO2 during growth and that absorbed carbon can remain bound in the produced paper rather than being released through wood harvesting and processing. Those effects are plausible in principle but require lifecycle assessment and independent verification to be accepted by buyers, recyclers and regulators.

Pilot line launch, partners and early customers

The launch event in Les Mureaux included a live demonstration of the leaf-to-pulp process and showcased recyclable packaging made from Releaf material. The event drew more than fifty attendees from French media, finance and business, including representatives from L'Oréal, AXA, BPI and COPASEL. Regional and corporate speakers included Alexandra Dublanche, Vice-President of the Île-de-France region, and Antoine Veron from Uber Eats.

Releaf publicly announced a pilot partnership with Uber Eats Paris to supply leaf-based packaging to selected restaurants on the platform as part of a broader push to reduce single-use plastics in food delivery. One trade story cited nearly 100 000 Releaf bags being deployed in restaurants, though details on deployment scale and duration vary across sources.

EIC support and the role of public backing

Releaf is an EIC Accelerator beneficiary. The company notes that the EIC grant and associated business acceleration services were crucial to move from lab demonstration to pilot production. The EIC Accelerator offers blended finance for deep technology start-ups combining grants up to €2.5 million and equity investments typically from €1 million to €10 million. For hardware companies with slower development cycles but potentially larger environmental impact, public funding can bridge risk gaps that private investors avoid.

Market adoption, supply chain realities and open questions

Releaf executives describe Europe as an ideal market where consumer demand and regulation align to favour sustainable packaging. They concede that many customers are cautious. Some businesses delay switching for internal reasons other than product performance. Releaf also acknowledged that until recently it lacked sufficient production capacity to sell at scale. The new pilot line is intended to address that bottleneck.

Beyond production capacity there are material challenges that will determine whether leaf-based paper can scale. These include the seasonality and volume of leaf collection, contamination of urban green waste with plastics and litter, costs of collection and preprocessing, and the need for stable, year round feedstock if customers require continuous supply. Local logistics are critical but municipal leaf collection systems differ widely across Europe.

Another realistic constraint is price parity. Releaf will have to show that its product can be cost competitive with recycled or virgin fibre solutions once collection, preprocessing and industrial scale costs are included. Technology novelty may allow premium pricing initially but widespread substitution demands competitive economics.

Context in the EU innovation ecosystem

Releaf’s path illustrates how the European Innovation Council ecosystem works in practice. The EIC focuses on high risk, high impact innovations and provides grants plus business acceleration services. Projects that combine environmental benefit with commercial potential can attract regional support, technical partnerships and corporate pilots faster in the EU than in some other markets due to tighter regulation on single use plastics and stronger consumer preference signals.

However, the EU also demands rigorous evidence. Public procurement rules, waste and packaging directives and corporate sustainability reporting increasingly require independently verifiable data. Start-ups that cannot produce transparent LCAs and compatibility with recycling streams may face adoption hurdles despite promising pilot results.

What to watch next

Key milestones and evidence that will determine whether Releaf moves from pilot to meaningful scale are:

Caveats and assessment

Releaf Paper presents an attractive narrative that converts a ubiquitous urban waste stream into a potentially lower impact fibre source. The pilot in France and early corporate pilots such as with Uber Eats are credible steps. Nevertheless the environmental performance numbers quoted in press coverage are company provided and require independent LCA and industry acceptance. Important technical questions remain about feedstock consistency, contamination, year round supply and the behaviour of leaf fibres in standard recycling processes.

Public support from the EIC is appropriate for this kind of hardware and industrial innovation. Public backing reduces early stage risk and can accelerate validation. Ultimately commercial success will depend on cost, proven environmental benefits, regulatory fit and the ability to secure feedstock contracts and processing scale.

Practical note and sources

Company statements cited here come from the EIC Coffee Break interview published 9 January 2025, trade coverage including an 18 November 2024 Sustainable Packaging News article and Releaf press material. The EIC notes that its GHG Tool and related badges initiative are no longer active as tools. At the time of preparing this article attempts to visit releaf-paper.com returned a 503 Service Unavailable message indicating a hosting interruption. Readers and potential partners should request up to date technical documentation, independent LCA reports and certification evidence before drawing firm conclusions.