The German company focusing on the development of high-performance, biodegradable ingredients to replace acrylic polymer based microplastics, has landed EUR 16 million in funding to accelerate market entry across Europe. The round was led by Axeleo Capital - Green Tech Industry Fund joined by the EIC Fund, NBank Capital, BonVenture, and seed investor Dr.-Ing. Frank Jenner.
Founded in 2019 by Dr. Prateek Mahalwar and Srinivas Karuturi, Bioweg converts food-industry side streams into bacterial cellulose via precision fermentation, refining it with green chemistry into drop-in alternatives to fossil-based polymers. The company operates a pilot plant production site in Quakenbrück (up to six tonnes capacity) and a material science, formulation and applications lab in Monheim within Bayer Crop Science’s campus.
Industrial build up
The latest financing round, which brings the total amount raised by the company to date to EUR 22 million, will enable the step-up from pilot to industrial production, including construction of an industrial bacterial-cellulose facility in Germany — designed to be able to meet the growing demand of industrial customers in sustainable microplastics-free ingredients. The plant design provides a pathway from the current 6,000-litre fermentation scale to large-volume manufacturing and will be co-located with a major sugar producer in Germany to secure feedstock synergies and lower operating costs.
Bioweg will also upgrade its Quakenbrück pilot line to serve near-term customer orders during the plant construction, while expanding commercial, regulatory and production teams to further expand into the European market.
Bioweg’s portfolio addresses priority use cases: Micbeads provide biodegradable leave-on micro-powders for cosmetics with premium sensorial performance; RheoWeg delivers bio-based rheology and suspension control for personal and home care; AgriWeg offers seed and fertiliser coatings.
With production capacity scaling in Germany, Bioweg intends to focus on qualifying supply with customers and supporting reformulation programmes across Europe.
