The impact of investors on your business
Paques Biomaterials completed a new round of funding last Friday raising €14 million to take the next step in producing a biopolymer that has the advantages of plastic but not the disadvantages. Among the investors are impact investor Invest-NL and the NOM.
Over ten years ago, in cooperation with Delft University of Technology, the development of this biopolymer from wastewater started within the company Paques in Balk. Three years ago, the technology was transferred to Paques Biomaterials. The capital raised in this funding round will allow the company to scale up by building a Caleyda Extraction Facility in Emmen. Here, the raw PHA will be extracted into a high-quality biopolymer with the brand name Caleyda that can be used for a wide range of applications. Mainly because the product is 100% biodegradable in any natural environment without leaving behind harmful microplastics.
Over the past three years, the technology behind the product Caleyda has been further developed, with bacteria in organic waste streams producing the biopolymer PHA. Paques Biomaterials has extensively tested its technology on a laboratory and pilot scale, and in 2022, in cooperation with five Dutch water boards and waste and energy company HVC, built a demo plant in Dordrecht. In addition, the company entered into several collaborations in 2023, such as with Kolon Industries in South Korea, circular waste stream company Looop in Venlo, and with Senbis Polymer Innovations in Emmen to further refine the technology.
"We are extremely pleased with the confidence investors have in our technology."
Joost Paques, 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 where we produce a natural alternative to plastic from organic waste streams. By the way, this round of funding still offers room for new investors to step in who want to invest in a future with sustainable raw materials."
Sytze Hellinga, investment manager NOM, says: "We have come to know the founders, Joost Paques and René Rozendal, as driven, knowledgeable and determined to make this technology a success. We too see great potential for PHA and therefore see a role for us in co-financing this next step at this time. This will bring us another step closer to a natural alternative to plastic."
Emma den Held, investment manager at Invest-NL: "Our investment in this promising alternative to fossil plastics shows our confidence in the power of innovation. Paques Biomaterials' solution is fully circular and combats the spread of microplastics. With a patented technology, a large potential market reach and a strong management team, we are convinced that with our investment we are making an important contribution towards a circular economy."
In the future, Paques Biomaterials will build a full-scale extraction plant where the promising biopolymer PHA will be produced on a large scale (6 million kg per year). The potential for PHA is enormous. According to the European industry association European Bioplastics, the global demand for PHA will grow exponentially in the coming years. The global market for bioplastics is estimated to grow from 2.18 million tons in 2023 to 7.43 million tons in 2028. Specifically for PHA, that means growth from one hundred thousand tons in 2023 to 1 million tons in 2028 https://www.european-bioplastics.org/market/ . It is Paques Biomaterials' goal to obtain a large market share in this.