Plantsea smashes crowdfunding target – bringing seaweed polymer closer to market

Welsh innovator Plantsea has smashed its £50k crowdfunding target, raising £350k that will help advance production of its seaweed-based biodegradable membrane from lab-scale innovation to industrial manufacturing trials.

Plantsea’s seaweed polymer is designed to replace traditional capsules used in washing machines. Unlike standard materials like PVOH, film will fully dissolve in water or biodegrade in compost.

CEO Dr Rhiannon Rees said: “The capsule market is the fastest growing in the laundry sector*. While the capsules used today are often marketed as biodegradable, they still contribute to microplastic pollution. If adopted at scale, Plantsea technology has the potential to remove billions of plastic-based capsules from the supply chain.”

Plantsea, which is based in St Asaph, North Wales, is already running paid pilots with global brands. Its longer-term aim is to build a biorefining plant in Wales. The crowdfunding – which brings the Seed Round total of over £1.85 million from grants and investors – will allow Plantsea to scale biopolymer production by 100 times and run demonstration-scale manufacturing trials across the UK, Europe, and Asia.

Dr Alex Newnes, Chief Technical Officer at Plantsea said: “This funding allows us to take some key next steps – to take our material, that’s been rigorously proven in the lab, and push it through real industrial conditions. Scaling biopolymers isn’t just about volume, it’s about consistency, performance, and manufacturability. This round enables us to accelerate demonstration-scale production and work directly with manufacturers to show that seaweed-based polymers can meet detergent-grade standards at global scale.”

Crowdfunding through the Republic platform attracted support from over 500 individuals. In total, Plantsea has received over £1.85 million in investment from Angels Invest Wales, Development Bank of Wales, Sustainable Ventures and Syndicate Room and Innovate UK. Last month, it was one of nine projects across Mid and North Wales to secure a share of £2.95 million in Collaborative Research & Development (CR&D) funding from Innovate UK, which was designed to strengthen the regions' agri-tech and food-tech innovation ecosystems. 

Rees said: “Film manufacturers and brands have been actively searching for a viable PVOH replacement for years. For Plantsea, this round of funding is the key to turning years of deep scientific work into real-world impact. We’ve proven the material works. Now we’re proving it can scale and preparing to bring our polymer for seaweed-based soluble films to market!”

·      *https://www.stellarmr.com/report/Laundry-Detergent-Market/372?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Ends

Editors notes

·      In 2023, PlantSea, clinched two prestigious awards in a single evening. The company was honoured with the esteemed Enterprise Investment Scheme Association (EISA) Award and the coveted Start-up Award for North Wales.

·      Plantsea already has a high level of interest in its biopolymer, with over 40 commercial leads across laundry, personal care, cosmetics, and agriculture.