Paques Biomaterials from Balk, a company that develops a biodegradable alternative to plastic, has raised 14 million euros in financing. The investors also include Invest-NL, the investment fund for start-ups established by the Dutch government, and NOM.
With the capital raised, the company says it wants to take “the next step in the production of a biopolymer that has the advantages of plastic, but not the disadvantages.” The next step means scaling up by building a new facility in Emmen.
Biopolymer
There, the so-called Caleyda, the biopolymer, will be produced from organic residual material. Caleyda is a fully biodegradable substance that can be used for various applications without leaving behind harmful microplastics.
“We are extremely pleased with the confidence that investors have in our technology,” says Joost Pâques, co-founder and CEO of Paques Biomaterials. “They give us the opportunity to scale up and take the next step in creating a new, circular chain in which we produce a natural alternative to plastic from organic residual flows.”
In the future, Paques Biomaterials wants to build a factory where this new biopolymer will be produced on a large scale (6 million kilos per year).