Matereal, a Denver-based bioplastics startup, secured funding to advance its mission to decarbonize and detoxify the chemical plastic supply chain, starting with apparel.
The company is developing a non-isocyanate polyurethane — a plastic that does not require a isocyanate, a potential human carcinogen to manufacture.
Matereal Inc. raised $4.5 million in a seed funding round, the company revealed Thursday.
Matereal's product, which it calls Polaris, is developed from plant material — often linseed or soybean — and captured carbon, and it offers increased sustainability and manufacturing safety over traditional polyurethane when used to create coatings or laminates, the company says.
Polaris is initially being used as a coating for textiles, the company said in a press release. Coated fabrics are used in the fashion industry, which is the first industry Matereal aims to break into, according to the company's LinkedIn.
Matereal says that its plastic alternative combines the best aspects of traditional plastic's "versatility, durability, and cost-effectiveness — with cutting-edge chemistry to eliminate petrochemicals and toxic isocyanates, the primary culprits behind workplace-related asthma."
The startup's funding round was led by the New York-based investment firm Collaborative Fund, which has previously invested in the prebiotic soda company OLIPOP and transportation network company Lyft. Oakland, California-based Better Ventures and Santa Barbara, California-based Alante Capital were among other investors.
Jacqueline Ros Amable, is co-founder and CEO for Matereal. Previously, she was a DBJ 40 under 40 honoree in 2017 for her work as co-founder and chief community officer at Revolar, which developed wearable emergency alert devices. In 2018, Ros Amable was on a personal sustainability quest while she worked as regional director for the Americas for Techstars, a startup accelerator network that's based in Boulder.
Her new startup shares a focus on sustainability.
"We are a team driven by an unstoppable vision of eliminating toxic plastic inputs from production and replacing them with alternatives that are good for people and the planet," said Ros Amable.
“This funding brings us a lot closer to making every product consumers purchase better for them and the environment,” said Philip Pienkos, the company's co-founder and chief technology officer, a former bio-energy research leader in Golden at the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
The global polyurethane market was estimated at $78.07 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach $105.29 billion in 2030, according to a market analysis report by Grand View Research.
“Matereal has the potential for massive impact across industries – polyurethane is found everywhere from furniture to automotive parts. The team’s edge lies in their ability to produce polymers that are functionally identical to polyurethane in a frictionless, scalable process for manufacturers.” said Sophie Bakalar, partner at the Collaborative Fund.
