Female Student Develops Packaging Concept for Batteries

How did you come up with the idea to develop BattPack?

I am studying packaging technology and sustainability at the HTWK Leipzig in my Bachelor’s degree. One assignment in the 5th semester was to optimize packaging or develop a new one for the product of our choice. Because everyone probably knows the phenomenon of storing full and empty batteries in a drawer at home and not knowing which ones might be fully charged, I wanted to develop a battery packaging with a storage mechanism for empty batteries. I came up with the idea of building a mobile partition into a folding cardboard box so that fully charged batteries and empty ones can be stored separately from each other.

The folding box for class AA household batteries is a simple solution for storage. With a simple printed divider in the box, batteries can be easily sorted into full and empty batteries. The printed scale on the box helps keep track of their numbers.

How long did it take from the idea to the finished product? What individual steps in the production process were necessary for this?

I worked on the project for about three months. I first did a market analysis and looked at which materials were already being used. Only plastic or cardboard came into question, and I decided on cardboard. It was important to me to choose a mono-material so that consumers could dispose of it easily and the packaging could be recycled well. The sheet was printed and then cut, glued, and erected.

I took a rather amateurish approach to the subsequent design. I’m more interested in technical development than in designing the outer appearance.

What does the German Packaging Award mean to you?

My lecturer Paula Balzereit had the idea to submit my packaging for the award and supported me a lot. At the time of submission as well as when the announcement of the award winners took place, I was on a semester abroad in Athens. The award means a lot to me because I put a lot of heart and soul into various projects during my 5th semester. It is a good feeling to now receive recognition for this from industry professionals. I’m delighted about the award and look forward to the award ceremony in Berlin.

What is important to you about packaging?

The function from the consumers’ point of view, but definitely also from the manufacturers’ perspective. Because if a packaging idea cannot be implemented, then it is of no use. For example, I checked whether BattPack was machine -compatible. Sustainability and consumer-friendliness are also important factors for me.

What’s next for BattPack? Do you already have plans?

During the semester in Athens, I had little opportunity to continue my packaging development. Instead, I was able to learn many other things in Greece. What is certain is that I now want to do a Master of Engineering after my Bachelor of Engineering. Next summer semester, I would like to do a company internship and am currently looking for a suitable position.

What do you particularly enjoy about your course of study?

I’ve always found packaging fascinating and wanted to choose a degree program that has to do with sustainability. From the many projects in the course, you can see how complex the world of packaging is. Packaging development is a significant challenge these days, especially in light of climate change. If I see that a package is not very ecological, then that is an incentive for me to optimize it to that effect. It is also a fact that without packaging we would have a lot of food losses, for example, and would consume much more energy. Therefore, the product protection of a package is elementary and sustainable.