The startup traceless materials from Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) has announced the location for its production facility in Hamburg-Harburg. Last year, the founders received funding of around five million euros from the Federal Ministry for the Environment’s Environmental Innovation Programme. The company is supported by the Startup Port @TUHH.
The bioeconomy start-up traceless materials has developed a nature-based and environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The company produces the compostable biomaterial traceless® from plant residues from industrial grain processing. The company, which is based at Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), is planning to build a demonstration plant to realise this innovative technology on an industrial scale for the first time. The aim is to replace several thousand tonnes of conventional plastics every year and thus save a considerable amount of CO2 emissions, fossil resources, water and agricultural land.
The location for the first production plant has been decided: the first large-scale production facility for the material pioneer will be built at the Großmoorbogen in Hamburg-Harburg. The founders and their team are taking over the existing building from the previous owner, the long-established Wedemann bakery. In doing so, traceless is focussing on resource-saving construction in existing buildings.
Anne Lamp, traceless’ co-founder and CEO, explained: “This location is a real stroke of luck for us. We are delighted that we can now build our first large production facility here in Hamburg – this is where we founded traceless and took our first steps out of science. We are delighted that the previous owner, Franziska Wedemann, agreed to sell the building to a young company like us. As pioneers, we want to provide fresh impetus for a green, bio-based industry here locally and hope to attract many more companies.”
Johanna Baare, traceless’ co-founder and COO, added: “Now that we were able to announce the financing last September, construction can finally begin. An exciting phase is beginning for us here in Harburg. The demo plant is the first step towards industrialising our technology. Here we want to show that we can actually produce our material on a large scale and competitively. This step is essential for our goal of making a real difference in solving plastic pollution.”
The building for the new production facility covers an area of around 4,000 square metres. An annual production volume of several thousand tonnes of traceless granulate per year is planned, with production scheduled to start in 2025. For the first regular market entry, traceless has already concluded initial purchase agreements with European brand owners and processors. The successful financing round for the construction of the plant totalling 36.6 million euros was announced in September 2023. Various investors and a local banking consortium are involved. The project is being funded with 5,128,401 euros from the Environmental Innovation Programme of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).
Founded in 2020 with the support of beyourpilot (now Startup Port) and Calls for Transfer, the company will create around forty new jobs and attract skilled industrial workers by building up the production team to around 90 people in the current and coming year. By locating in the south of Hamburg, traceless aims to characterise the region as a location for innovation, provide impetus for the development of a bio-based industry and decisively advance the bioeconomy in Germany.
Further information on the founding history of traceless materials via Startup Stories
