The startup traceless materials of the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) has received millions in funding from the Federal Ministry for the Environment and is planning to build a demonstration plant in Hamburg. The company is supported by beyourpilot and 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 the Technical University of Hamburg (TUHH), is planning to build a demonstration plant for the first large-scale implementation of the innovative technology. The goal is to replace several thousand tonnes of conventional plastics annually and thus save CO2 emissions, fossil resources, water and agricultural land to a considerable extent.
”To make a real contribution to solving plastic pollution and the climate crisis, we need to produce our materials on an industrial scale. The planned demonstration production plant is the next step on this path, and the funding is an essential contribution to its financing,” explains Johanna Baare, co-founder and COO.
The project is being funded with around five million euros from the Federal Environment Ministry’s Environmental Innovation Programme. Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. Bettina Hoffmann handed over the funding cheque to the two founders last week. In her statement, Dr. Bettina Hoffmann emphasised the great potential of the project and paid tribute to traceless’ outstanding work for the environment and Germany as an industrial location.
Plastics are at the centre of the ecological challenges of our time. Not only do they leave visible traces in the global plastic waste, their costly production from fossil resources also contributes significantly to the climate crisis. As part of a cycle-oriented, sustainable economy, the bioeconomy offers a solution: instead of fossil resources, renewable raw materials are used and processed into biobased products using environmentally friendly methods.
traceless materials has developed a novel bioeconomy technology: A natural biomaterial is produced from plant residues from grain processing as an alternative to plastic. The traceless® material is certified completely bio-based, compostable at home and plastic-free. By using plant residues, valuable biomass resources are conserved. The patent-pending technology is based on natural polymers, comes without potential pollutants and has a minimal ecological footprint: compared to plastic, 91 percent of CO2 emissions and 89 percent of fossil energy requirements are saved during production and disposal.
The company produces traceless® as a granulate that can be further processed using standard technologies in the plastics and packaging industry. This means the material can be used in a wide range of end products – from moulded parts and flexible films to paper coatings or adhesives.
Founded in 2020 with support from beyourpilot and Calls for Transfer, traceless® is already producing on a pilot scale. With the aim of replacing plastics in large quantities soon, capacities are being expanded to industrial scale. The planned plant will demonstrate the industrial feasibility of the innovative process for the first time. Parallel to scaling up the technology, the 30-strong team is developing pilot products from the traceless® material together with customers and partners.
Due to its innovative solution, the company is being funded by the EU as part of the EIC Accelerator. In addition, the company has already been awarded numerous prizes, including the German Founder’s Prize and the German Sustainability Award/Next Economy Award.
More information on the founding story of traceless materials via Startup Stories by beyourpilot
