Seaweed-based biodegradable membrane innovator Plantsea has smashed its £50k crowdfunding target, raising £350k that will help advance production from lab-scale innovation to industrial manufacturing trials.
Made from seaweed, Plantsea’s natural polymer film will dissolve in water or biodegrade in compost. Designed to equal the cost of PVOH in laundry and cleaning capsules, it can be heat-sealed or vacuum-formed, and manufactured in conventional processes with no adaptations.
CEO Dr Rhiannon Rees welcomed the funding success, saying: “This is an incredible vote of confidence in our product. The capsule market is the fastest growing in the laundry sector* and, while PVOH is often marketed as biodegradable, it still contributes to microplastic pollution. If adopted at scale, Plantsea technology has the potential to remove billions of plastic-based capsules from the supply chain.”
Plantsea’s mission is to replace petroleum-derived plastics with scalable, marine-safe alternatives. Unlike many bio-materials, its film is designed for detergent-grade performance and equals PVOH production on cost.
The company, which is based in 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, 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!”