Polymateria has raised £20 million Series B funding to accelerate commercialisation of its ‘self-destructing plastics’.
The company, established at Imperial College London, says its technology has proven full biodegradation of plastic items into water, CO2 and biomass without leaving any microplastic or toxic residue in the open environment.
The tech can be deployed with no changes to existing manufacturing processes and is compatible with existing recycling streams.
Recent high-profile customers include Twickenham Rugby Stadium, the Chicago Marathon and 7-ELEVEN Taiwan.
The funding round was led by Singapore-based impact private equity fund ABC Impact and sustainable chemical company Indorama Ventures.
Proceeds from the funding round will be used to accelerate commercialisation on a global scale. The company intends to both increase penetration into existing markets and expand into new markets where fugitive plastic pollution is most acute, including developing further in Asia.
“I’m tremendously excited to be embarking on the next step of Polymateria’s journey. We founded Polymateria to make a real difference to one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges,” said co-founder Lee Davy-Martin.
“With the backing of investors like ABC Impact and Indorama Ventures, we are well on the way to achieving our mission.”
Sugandhi Matta, chief impact officer at ABC Impact, commented: “With the strength of Polymateria’s scientific underpinning and the vast scalability of its technology, we believe that the solution developed by the company can help address challenges in plastic packaging related pollution.
“We look forward to helping the team expand its commercialization reach and further generate impact at scale in Asia.”