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Sustainable seaweed packaging secures £4.35m investment
Initially seeking £3m in equity investment, the Bristol-based firm raised £4.35m in a funding round lead by Blackfinch Ventures. Kelpi secured funding from Green Angel Ventures, Kadmos Partners, QantX, Evenlode Foundation and the South Wales Investment Fund.
Kelpi chief executive Neil Morris said: “This landmark investment enables Kelpi to scale up our pioneering work and take to market our world-leading packaging material that is already being chosen by clients.
‘Accelerate our work’
“Kelpi can now play a key role in ending our dependence on fossil fuels to create single-use packaging and so eliminating a major source of plastic pollution. We’re delighted to receive this backing from investors like Blackfinch and Green Angel Ventures to allow us to accelerate our pioneering work.”
What does Kepli develop?
Kelpi uses seaweed to createnovel biopolymers from which it uses to make bioplastic coatings. These coatings can be applied to card and paper packaging to make them water resistant, removing the need to use plastic.
The investment will be used to advance manufacturing pilots and gain regulatory approval for the company’s proprietary coatings for paper and card, as well as continue its commercial roll-out.
Dr Reuben Wilcock, head of ventures at Blackfinch, said: “Kelpi stood out to us as a strong combination of world-leading scientific innovation with extensive entrepreneurial experience. Their technology has immense commercial potential and we’re excited to be backing the company to scale up and go to market.”
Sustainably sourced
Kelpi uses renewable feedstocks, sourcing sustainably farmed seaweed in an attempt to reduce its environmental impact – seaweed draws in a large amount of carbon dioxide as it grows, deacidifying the ocean and creating a rich environment for fish.
Green Angel Ventures chief executive Cam Ross said “We’ve been consistently impressed with Kelpi’s team and technology, and their pioneering approach to developing biopolymers from renewable feedstocks like seaweed.
“At scale, the Kelpi approach will play a vital role in reducing fossil fuel dependency, addressing climate change and impacting on plastic pollution.”
Meanwhile, the transition away from plastic packaging in consumer goods is moving too slowly despite pledges from across the food and drink industry to use ‘environmentally friendly’ alternatives, according to a new study by Aquapak.
