Bioeconomy startup Traceless Materials announces the closing of a €36.6 million financing round, securing the expansion of its biomaterial technology production capacity to industrial scale.
The Series A financing round is led by the Private equity fund UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund which invests in sustainable and resource-efficient forestry and bio-based industries, and complemented by SWEN Blue Ocean, which invests in sustainable and resource-efficient forestry and bio-based industries. Invest in innovations that help tackle three existential threats to ocean healthoverfishing, pollution and climate change. A local banking consortium and the company's three existing investors (Planet A, High-Tech Gründerfonds, b.value) also participated in the financing round.
Traceless Materials has developed a holistically sustainable material to combat the plastic crisis. The natural biomaterial Traceless is certified fully bio-based, home-compostable and plastic-free. Thanks to the Utilisation of agricultural residues valuable biomass resources are conserved. The Patent-pending technology is based on natural polymers, contains no potentially harmful chemicals and has a minimal ecological footprint: compared to plastic, 91 per cent of CO2 emissions and 89 per cent of fossil energy requirements are saved during production and disposal.
„By scaling up our innovative technology, we are demonstrating that a climate-friendly, circular, resilient and regenerative industry is possible. With our novel biomaterial, we can make a significant contribution to solving plastic pollution. We are convinced that UB FIGG and SWEN are a great addition to our shareholders as they have relevant knowledge in our industry. The fact that both our investors and the banks fully support our mission was a decisive criterion for us.“
Dr Anne Lamp, CEO and co-founder of Traceless
In order to implement the innovative technology on an industrial scale for the first time, Traceless a demonstration plant in Hamburg. With this production plant, the company will replace several thousand tonnes of conventional plastic every year and at the same time save considerable amounts of CO2 emissions, fossil resources, water and agricultural land.
„Traceless„ approach of utilising widely available agricultural side streams to replace fossil plastics and the financial opportunities offered by their solution convinced us both economically and environmentally. The traceless team has performed extremely well in terms of material performance, development times and commercialisation of the new material. "
Sakari Saarela, Partner at UB FIGG
After the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV) a grant totalling five million euros for the construction of this demonstration plant, the Series A financing round is now complete. the second part of the financing strategy of the company to expand its production capacities.
„Financing capital-intensive start-ups is still unfamiliar to many investors and banks. This makes it a particular challenge for industrial production start-ups like us that are developing the innovative technologies of tomorrow. We are delighted to have found partners in UB FIGG, SWEN Blue Ocean, Planet A, HTGF, b.value and our local banking consortium who share our vision and have recognised and understood the challenges of financing our hardware scale-up.“
Johanna Baare, COO and co-founder of traceless.
The company manufactures Traceless materials in the form of a granulate that can be processed with standard technologies of the plastics and packaging industry can be used. This means that the material can be used in a wide range of end products - from rigid moulded parts and flexible films to paper coatings or adhesives.
Founded in 2020, the team of around 40 people has set itself the goal of replacing plastics in large quantities by demonstrating for the first time that the innovative process implemented on an industrial scale can be realised. Parallel to the technology scale-up, the continuously growing company is developing pilot products made from Traceless materials with its customers and partners.
Source: Traceless Materials
