German company Bioweg, which develops biodegradable, biobased plastics alternative materials has secured €16 million in a Series A round. The company aims to build its first-of-a-kind bacterial cellulose production plant with this round to bring their product to the market at scale.
Bioweg converts food industry by-products into bacterial cellulose through precision fermentation, refining it with green chemistry into “drop-in” alternatives to fossil-based polymers. From this platform, Bioweg has developed three distinct product lines to serve key markets:
- MicBeads, a biodegradable replacement for plastic microbeads in the cosmetics industry,
- Rheoweg, a bio-based rheology modifier for home care and cosmetics,
- Agriweg, a solution for seed coatings and fertilizer encapsulation in agriculture.
Europe has initiated a progressive ban on microplastics that will unfold over the next decade, starting with rinse-off cosmetics in 2027 and extending to detergents, fertilizers, leave-on products, and even make-up by 2035. Within this clear and pressing regulatory window, industries are actually already looking for scalable, functional bio-based and biodegradable alternatives to fossil based products under the growing pressure coming from consumers.
The funding was led by Axeleo Capital, within their Greentech Industry fund, with the support of Bon Venture, EIC, NBank and Dr Frank Jenner.
In a post, Bioweg CEO Prateek M. said “I am super excited to share that BIOWEG has just closed a funding round of $19M / €16M and to build our scale-up plant in Germany! Entrepreneurship is never a straight line – it’s full of ups and downs, tough choices, and moments of doubt. What has truly made the difference for us is the incredible support of the ecosystem, peers, industry leaders and advisors, always stepping in to help…. The next big challenge for us is scaling and commercialisation – bringing our sustainable materials to real-world impact at industrial scale.”
