Seaweed bid to turn tide on plastics
A biotech company in Bath has secured funding to develop compostable food packaging made from seaweed in a bid to reduce the use of single-use plastics.
Kelpi, which is collaborating with the University of Bath on the project, has received private and public investment to scale up work on its bioplastic technology, which the start-up says is both marine-safe and carbon neutral.
We set out to play a part in eliminating plastic pollution and enabling net zero. This funding will allow us to accelerate towards achieving that goal using seaweed. Kelpi co-founder and chief executive Neil Morris
The company, alongside researchers at the university’s Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies, has been developing solutions to thin plastic film used in the food industry.
These materials are often produced with chemicals derived from fossil fuel, which can take hundreds of years to decompose.
The business has now closed a pre-seed investment round led by Bristol Private Equity Club (BPEC),
a group of entrepreneurs in the city, combined with a grant from a scheme aiming to simplify public/ private co-investment into deeptech businesses.
Kelpi co-founder and chief executive Neil Morris said the “landmark investment” would allow the company to become one of a “handful” of firms worldwide that is working entirely with bioplastic food packaging.
Mr Morris said: “We set out to
play a part in eliminating plastic pollution and enabling net zero. This funding will allow us to accelerate progress towards achieving that goal using seaweed - a natural, renewable biomass that has huge potential to sequester carbon and sustainably address climate change.”
The backing from BPEC represents the first significant investment from the group’s new Seed division, which focuses on earlystage
businesses.
BPEC Seed’s Pete Lockett said Mr Morris, co-founder Murrary Kenneth and chief technical officer professor Chris Chuck had developed a business that could play a “vital role” in addressing climate change and plastic pollution.
Mr Lockett said: “Kelpi stood out to us as a strong combination of world-leading scientific innovation with great entrepreneurial experience.”