Danish BioTech startup Cellugy secures €8.1 million to eradicate microplastics in private care merchandise

Cellugy, the commercial biotechnology startup creating revolutionary, biobased options to interchange fossil-based supplies within the private care sector, has simply secured €8.1 million to assist scaling up the manufacturing of its biofabricated cellulose-based rheology modifier materials, EcoFLEXY. The recent capital comes within the type of a grant from the LIFE Programme, the European Union’s funding instrument for initiatives supporting atmosphere and local weather motion.

The Søborg-based startup was based in 2018. Their predominant product, EcoFLEXY, is designed to interchange fossil-based carbomers, often called dangerous microplastics, considerably lowering environmental air pollution and the usage of hazardous chemical compounds within the cosmetics sector. It delivers superior product efficiency and adaptable sensorial properties, together with scalable, operationally environment friendly manufacturing to fulfill the wants of a fast-evolving magnificence business centered on sustainability and innovation.

The discharge of microplastics from private care merchandise is a rising concern, as research point out that merchandise similar to facial scrubs and liquid soaps contribute to environmental air pollution. Current analysis additionally means that microplastics can enter the human physique by way of inhalation, ingestion, or pores and skin contact, elevating questions on their potential impacts on human well being. Rheology modifiers, for instance, are important to just about each private care product, from skincare and color cosmetics to deodorants and oral care. Nonetheless, almost 70% of the €2.8 billion world rheology modifier (RM) market stays depending on fossil-based carbomers and acrylates, that are categorised beneath the EU’s REACH regulation on account of their persistent and poisonous nature.

By the BIOCARE4LIFE undertaking, EcoFLEXY is positioned to stop the discharge of 259 tons of microplastics yearly by undertaking completion, scaling dramatically to 1,289 tons per 12 months by 2034, equal to eradicating tens of millions of contaminated magnificence merchandise from the market every year.

The timing of the undertaking is essential, as experiences recommend the sweetness business may stand to lose round €12 billion because of the EU microplastics ban and US restrictions on PFAS, also called “without end chemical compounds.” However the problem is greater than only a sustainability-related problem.

“An alternate materials that merely goals to be extra sustainable shouldn’t be sufficient; the crucial problem is about delivering bio-based options that truly outperform petrochemicals in efficiency parameters like texture, performance, and person expertise, whereas additionally being scalable and operationally environment friendly,” defined Dr. Isabel Alvarez-Martos, CEO and Co-founder at Cellugy. He continued: ”Good intentions received’t drive business change; we’d like higher-quality alternate options like EcoFLEXY that make it simpler, not more durable, for manufacturers to decide on sustainability. Solely when bio-based supplies match or exceed the efficiency and economics of conventional elements will we see the transformation wanted to guard each human well being and our planet.”

EcoFLEXY goals to supply superior efficiency and beforehand unachievable functionalities in comparison with present biobased elements, similar to xanthan and cellulose gums, whereas eliminating the dealing with challenges related to plant-nanocellulose alternate options. The biofabricated cellulose materials delivers enhanced stability, compatibility, and sensoriality, crucial components for cosmetics producers who can not compromise on product high quality whereas assembly rising sustainability calls for. This bridges the hole between the efficiency of fossil-based modifiers and the environmental advantages of pure supplies, enabling the creation of efficient and eco-friendly private care formulations.

The BIOCARE4LIFE undertaking will drive EcoFLEXY’s scale-up course of by way of the work of a specialist consortium of consultants in biotechnology, sustainability, and knowledge administration: The Footprint Agency (TFF), a consultancy firm centered on round financial system options and environmental affect validation, and Sci2sci, a Berlin-based startup specialising in knowledge administration, machine studying, and AI-driven course of optimisation.

The €8.1 million funding will fund crucial scaling actions, course of optimization, and industrial validation over a four-year interval.

Cellugy CEO Alvarez-Martos concluded: “This grant supplies the assets we have to remodel our imaginative and prescient into actuality. Inside three to 5 years, we count on to be producing important income whereas delivering a measurable environmental affect. Our finish purpose is sweeping petrochemicals from an business price billions, and we now have the backing and the partnerships to make it occur.”