German biotech company Bioweg has completed a €16m ($18.8m) funding round to develop ingredients to replace intentionally added acrylic polymer based microplastics in cosmetics and other products.
The capital will support scale-up, commercialisation and construction of Bioweg’s bacterial cellulose plant in Germany and accelerate market entry across Europe.
Founded in 2019 by Dr. Prateek Mahalwar and Srinivas Karuturi, Bioweg converts food-industry side streams into bacterial cellulose via precision fermentation, refining it with green chemistry into drop-in alternatives to fossil-based polymers.
Its portfolio includes Micbeads, biodegradable leave-on micro-powders for cosmetics with premium sensorial performance; and RheoWeg, which delivers bio-based rheology and suspension control for personal and home care.
The company operates a six-tonne pilot plant in Quakenbrück and a material science, formulation and applications lab in Monheim within Bayer Crop Science’s campus.
The latest financing round, which brings the total amount raised by the company to date to €22m, will enable the step-up from pilot to industrial production, including construction of an industrial bacterial-cellulose facility in Germany—designed to be able to meet the growing demand of industrial customers in sustainable microplastics-free ingredients.
The plant design provides a pathway from the current 6,000-litre fermentation scale to large-volume manufacturing and will be co-located with a major sugar producer in Germany to secure feedstock synergies and lower operating costs.
Bioweg will also upgrade its Quakenbrück pilot line to serve near-term customer orders during construction, while expanding commercial, regulatory and production teams to further expand into the European market.
Dr Prateek Mahalwar, Bioweg co-founder & CEO, said: “Today’s funding allows us to move decisively into industrial manufacturing and to support customers as they transition away from microplastics.
"Our focus is on matching and expanding polymer-level performance with bio-based, biodegradable ingredients produced at European scale.”
The round was led by Axeleo Capital - Green Tech Industry Fund joined by the EIC Fund, NBank Capital, BonVenture, and seed investor Dr.-Ing. Frank Jenner.
Marc Lechantre, partner, Axeleo Capital, said: “Bioweg combines a compelling regulatory tailwind with a credible industrialisation plan and strong customer pull on key markets.
“We’re backing the team as it's perfectly positioned within the ongoing transformation of supply chains towards microplastic-free products.”
