Led · Series A · Oct 2024

Notpla is a materials-innovation company that creates natural, seaweed-derived packaging and coatings intended to disappear harmlessly after use. The firm is now spearheading a three-year consortium to design a market-ready coffee cup featuring a fully natural, plastic-free coating that can be home-composted. Backed by a €4 million Horizon Europe grant, the project will investigate new coating chemistries, scalable production methods and real-world performance testing that comply with EU waste-management regulations. Notpla’s existing solutions have already displaced more than 35 million plastic single-use items across food service, events and retail. By targeting the estimated 500 billion disposable cups used annually, the company seeks to unlock a major new application for its technology. Fourteen partners spanning material science, manufacturing, academia and food service will collaborate to ensure the cup performs under high-volume hospitality conditions. The non-dilutive funding strengthens Notpla’s balance sheet while expanding its IP portfolio and product roadmap. Successful execution could position Notpla as a leading supplier of plastic-free packaging to global beverage and hospitality markets.

Led · Equity · Jan 2024

Paptic Ltd, established in 2015 and headquartered in Espoo, Finland, develops Paptic®, a fibre-based and recyclable material intended to replace plastics and conventional packaging materials. Paptic® materials have been available on an industrial scale since 2018 and are delivered to over 50 countries. The company employs about 45 professionals. Paptic focuses on serving international brand owners seeking sustainable alternatives and emphasizes new product development and cooperation with leading global brands. Management has an ambitious goal to reach EUR 100 million in revenue by 2026 and plans to invest in people, sales channels, technology, and product development to accelerate growth. In 2023 Paptic completed growth financings totalling EUR 27.5 million to support that expansion. Paptic develops Paptic®, a fibre-based and recyclable material intended to replace plastics and conventional materials in flexible packaging. Its material has been available on an industrial scale since 2018 and the company highlights unique touch-and-feel properties that run on existing converting lines. Paptic is expanding its materials portfolio and aims to make its flexible packaging materials more widely available globally. The company is accelerating the industrial scaling of a foam-based manufacturing technology to support production growth. Paptic says the investment will enhance its ability to serve a global customer base and advance its commitment to be carbon-neutral by 2030. The article notes a large addressable market — the global flexible packaging market is estimated at over €200 billion annually, with about 70% of materials currently plastics, and nearly half of end-uses potentially replaceable with renewable Paptic® materials.

Led · Series A · Sep 2023

traceless materials develops a patent-pending technology that turns agricultural industry plant leftovers into a natural biomaterial (traceless®) that is certified completely bio-based, home-compostable, and plastic-free. The technology is based on natural polymers, contains no potentially harmful chemicals, and is designed to have a minimal ecological footprint while conserving valuable biomass resources. The company is scaling its process from pilot scale to industrial scale to realize the ecological potential of its solution. traceless materials plans to use the Series A proceeds to expand production capabilities to industrial scale. Founded in 2020 and based in Hamburg, Germany, the company currently has a team of 40 employees. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. traceless materials develops a holistically sustainable, naturally compostable biomaterial made from agricultural food-production residues as an alternative to conventional plastics and bioplastics. The patent-pending technology, invented by CEO and co-founder Dr. Anne Lamp, uses natural polymers that are neither chemically modified nor synthetically polymerized. The material is fully home-compostable, requires no hazardous additives or solvents, avoids land-use change, and is claimed to have up to 87% lower CO2 emissions than conventional plastics. traceless says the material is already competitive in quality and will be price-competitive with virgin plastic at industrial EU scale. The product is applicable across rigid and flexible packaging, disposables, high-abrasion products, and coating & adhesive solutions; the team is developing prototypes including an e-commerce shipping bag with OTTO. Founded in September 2020 and based in Hamburg, the growing team has built a pilot production plant and is preparing for broader market entry. The company recently secured public funding and prior seed backing to accelerate scale-up toward demonstration and industrial production. traceless materials is a Hamburg, Germany–based circular bioeconomy startup founded in 2020. The company advances technology that uses agricultural industry by-products to produce storage-stable films, rigid materials and coatings. Its materials provide the beneficial properties of plastics while being fully compostable in the environment. The company plans to scale production from laboratory scale to produce sufficient material for first pilots targeted for early 2022 and to build a pilot plant. It intends to use the seed funding to continue hiring and to construct the pilot plant to enable those pilots.

Led · Series A · Sep 2023

traceless develops a patent-pending natural polymer biomaterial, traceless®, that is certified completely bio-based, home-compostable and plastic-free. The material is produced from agricultural residues and is offered as a granulate that can be processed using standard plastics and packaging industry technologies. traceless® aims to replace plastics across applications—from rigid molded parts and flexible films to paper coatings and adhesives—while conserving valuable biomass resources. The company reports that its process saves 91% of CO2 emissions and 89% of fossil energy requirements versus plastic during production and disposal. traceless is building a demonstration plant in Hamburg to implement its technology at industrial scale and intends to replace several thousand tons of conventional plastic annually. Founded in 2020, the team of about 40 employees is advancing technology scale-up and developing pilot products with customers and partners.

Led · Equity · Jun 2023

Woodio produces ecological, water-resistant bathroom products made from aspen chips and side-streams of the forest industry. Its core product line includes wash basins made from a biomaterial the company says can have up to an 80% smaller carbon footprint than equivalent ceramic basins. The company emphasizes sustainable raw materials and interior design applications. Woodio plans to use new funding to scale operations in Finland and to accelerate international expansion. Founded in 2016 and led by CEO Terja Koskenoja, the company has raised a total of €27M to date. The business remains focused on growth in both domestic and overseas markets.