In the United Kingdom, Kelpi has raised £3 million (US$3.6 million) to advance its seaweed-based coatings. Formulated for food and cosmetics packaging, the coatings are compatible with recycling infrastructure and industrial and home composters.
The seed round was led by Science Creates Ventures and Green Angel Syndicate, with funding from One Planet Capital and follow-on investment from Bristol Private Equity Club (BPEC), together with private angel investors. The round includes £665,000 of grant funding from Innovate UK’s Combined Investor Partnership.
Kelpi will use the funds to conduct manufacturing pilots for their coatings for paper and card. The high-performance materials boast uniquely strong water and oxygen barriers and grease and acid resistance.
“This landmark investment enables Kelpi to scale up our pioneering work using seaweed to create bioplastic packaging with the barrier properties required by clients,” Kelpi CEO and co-founder Neil Morris says in a press statement. “Kelpi can now play a key role in eliminating plastic pollution and ending our dependence on fossil fuels to create single-use packaging.”