Uluu Raises AU$16M to Scale Seaweed-Based Alternative to Plastic – vegconomist

Uluu, an Australian company that has developed a biodegradable seaweed-based alternative to plastic, has raised AU$16 million in Series A funding.

The round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, with support from Main Sequence, Novel Investments (the family office of one of the world’s largest textile groups), Startmate, and a consortium of leading impact and family investors (including Fairground and Trinity Ventures).

Uluu will use the funding to scale from its 100kg/year pilot facility to a 10-tonne/year demonstration plant in Western Australia. This will enable the company to deliver commercial volumes to its customers. Plans are also underway for a commercial-scale facility capable of producing thousands of tonnes annually.

Uluu is already collaborating with various global partners in the cosmetics, fashion, and automotive industries, including public campaigns with Quiksilver, Papinelle, and Audi.

Replacing fossil plastics

Uluu’s next-generation materials are said to perform like conventional plastics; they are described as strong, lightweight, waterproof, and non-toxic. The materials can be processed using existing plastic manufacturing equipment, and are reusable, recyclable, home compostable, and marine biodegradable.

At commercial scale, Uluu’s production process is claimed to have scope to sequester and avoid up to ~5kg CO₂ equivalent for every 1kg of material produced. In contrast, producing the same quantity of conventional plastic emits around 3kg. As a result, Uluu’s technology reportedly has the potential to reduce global CO₂ emissions by more than two gigatonnes per year.

Other companies that have developed sustainable seaweed-based materials in recent years include Notpla, B’ZEOS, and Kelpi.

“After four years’ work developing this technology, including two years running our pilot plant, we’re excited to take this next step and start delivering meaningful volumes of our materials to customers,” said Uluu co-founder and co-CEO Michael Kingsbury. “The demonstration plant is a critical step in showing Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”