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Perth-based sustainable technology startup Uluu has raised $16 million in Series A funding round to build a demonstration plant and scale its technology that transforms seaweed into a natural alternative to plastic for industrial production.
The round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments with support from Main Sequence, Novel Investments, Startmate and a consortium of leading impact and family investors, including Fairground and Trinity Ventures.
The latest capital raise follows an $8 million seed round in 2022 after two years of research by founders Dr Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury to develop a process that turns farmed seaweed into a plastic alternative.
Uluu’s next-generation materials perform like conventional plastics and can be processed using existing plastic manufacturing equipment.
Unlike plastic made from fossil fuels, they are reusable, recyclable, home compostable and marine biodegradable by breaking down naturally without releasing microplastics.
Ulu describes its products as “strong, lightweight, waterproof and non-toxic, while being climate positive at scale”.
“After four years’ work developing this technology, including two years’ running our pilot plant, we’re excited to take this next step and start delivering meaningful volumes of our materials to customers,” says Kingsbury, co-CEO of Uluuu.
“The demonstration plant is a critical step in showing Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”
At commercial scale, Uluu’s production process has scope to sequester and avoid up to about 5kg CO2 equivalent for every 1kg of material produced, compared with about 3kg emitted by plastic today.
The technology has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by more than 2 gigatonnes per year.
With the Series A raise, Uluu plans to scale from its 100kg-per-year pilot facility to a 10-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Western Australia, enabling the company to deliver commercial volumes to customers.
Uluu is already collaborating with a range of global partners in cosmetics, fashion and the automotive industry, including public campaigns with Quiksilver, Papinelle and Audi.
Co-CEO Reisser describes seaweed as one of the most sustainable resources on Earth.
“Seaweed grows quickly and gets everything it needs from the sun and the sea,” she says.
“It locks away CO2 and helps clean up pollutants from the ocean. By harnessing seaweed, Uluu is producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact on the environment, while ending plastic pollution.”
The Series A round also positions Uluu for future growth, with plans under way for a commercial-scale facility capable of producing thousands of tonnes annually to serve major global markets.
Uluu has grown from 13 to 23 staff this year, strengthening its technical, operations and commercial teams.
The company’s production process combines seaweed with fermentation, similar to brewing beer, to create natural polymers called PHAs that eliminate dependence on fossil fuels and persistent plastic pollution.
Among the startup’s early backers in the seed round were CSIRO-backed deep tech investor Main Sequence, as well as celebrities Karlie Kloss and Tame Impala frontman Kevin Parker.
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