The Welsh startup surpasses its crowdfunding target and moves from lab-scale testing to industrial-scale trials, aiming to replace PVOH with sustainable alternatives.
Plantsea, a Welsh startup specializing in seaweed-based biodegradable films, has raised £350,000, far exceeding its crowdfunding goal of £50,000. The funding will enable the company to take its natural polymer film from laboratory development to demonstration-scale industrial trials in the UK, Europe, and Asia.
The film, water-soluble and compostable, is designed to replace PVOH in laundry and cleaning capsules, maintaining equivalent costs while delivering detergent-grade performance. It can be heat-sealed, vacuum-formed, and manufactured using conventional processes without modifications to existing equipment
Investors include Angels Invest Wales, Sustainable Ventures, Syndicate Room, and Innovate UK. The startup is also one of nine projects in Mid and North Wales to receive CR&D funding from Innovate UK, aimed at strengthening innovation in agri-tech and food-tech.
Plantsea is already conducting paid pilot projects with global brands and plans to build a biorefining plant in Wales.
The funding brings the total Seed Round to over £1.85 million, allowing Plantsea to increase biopolymer production by 100 times and establish itself as a leader in sustainable packaging.
