Hera Materials

During their lifetime, humans will ingest an equivalent of 70,000 plastic bags in the form of microplastics. Despite efforts to slow or prevent this, a solution has yet to be found.

Packaging has become a major concern for consumers and companies alike, leading to policy changes as a means to reduce hard-to-recycle plastics. California, for instance, is pioneering a law that extends the ban on plastic bags to include all single-use plastics.

However, current alternatives  often contain hidden plastics and are not truly biodegradable, making them inconvenient to recycle or compost.

This leaves industries such as e-commerce, construction agriculture with an unmet need for large volumes of low-cost plastic alternatives.

And that's where Hera Materials comes in.

Hera Materials’ groundbreaking solution combines natural polymers, AI, and robotics to drive the transition toward a sustainable bioeconomy. These technologies harness the properties and functionality of renewable polymers, making it possible to transform any type of biomass into a commercially viable material.

The company’s AI-powered tools reformulate materials based on the variability of natural raw inputs, ensuring reliable performance and addressing the challenges of deploying bio-based materials. At the same time, its manufacturing robots enable large-scale production that is low-cost and energy-efficient.

The first product launched by the company, Woodpack, is a fully compostable set of flexible materials made from recycled wood pulp. As lightweight and high-performing as plastic, it has a far lower environmental impact. It offers a low-carbon, compostable, and recyclable alternative to other materials, some of which are nearly impossible to recycle. Woodpack not only protects products, it also protects the environment.

Woodpack has the potential to make a significant positive impact on the environment. With its natural compostability and low-carbon footprint, it represents a viable alternative to traditional plastic films. Furthermore, its production eliminates the need for oil extraction and energy conversion, representing a reduced carbon footprint.

By replacing the world's flexible films with Woodpack, Hera Materials will eliminate the generation of 30 million tons of plastic waste per year and 263 MMtCO2e.

In addition, Woodpack's poly bags are the perfect combination of lightness and sustainability, as their production is significantly lower in terms of carbon footprint when compared to traditional cardboard boxes. Most significantly, through their game-changing manufacturing process, they are able to rely on renewable energy for material manufacturing, unveiling the potential for net-zero materials.

Hera’s work complies with 4 United Nations Sustainable Goals: Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Life Below Water and Life on Land.

Hera Materials was born at the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab in Boston. Through this  collaboration, they get access to the full suite of products that Dassault Systèmes has to offer. They leverage SOLIDWORKS for CAD software and SIMULA for simulation – including for critical processes like material flow, thermal interaction and fluid-structure interaction – BIOVIA for composite analysis and ENOVIA for product life cycle management.

The collaboration between Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE Lab and Hera Materials is instrumental in scaling the production of manufacturing robots. Hera Materials benefits from the fab lab's prototyping space and utilizes software like SOLIDWORKS and SIMULIA for design and simulation. 

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform has allowed Hera Materials to manage the collaboration effectively, our multi-country operations  and our collaboration with key partners, ensuring seamless coordination and collaboration across different locations.

We are currently working on the integration of our AI-based molecular dynamics into Dassault Systèmes' BIOVIA platform to further enhance their capabilities.