Plastics, a product that is understood to never fully ‘disappear’ from the environment, is currently being produced more than 300 million tonnes annually. We have all seen the heartbreaking pictures of dead seabirds that have swallowed everything from toy parts to cigarette butts on the beaches, turtles entangled in six-pack holders, whale carcasses filled with plastics. Even experts in this field are unable to understand the exact scale of the problem.
To help tackle this plastics issue, in 2018 the EU proposed the European strategy for plastics in a circular economy. The strategy aims to “transform the way products are designed, produced, used, and recycled in the EU.” Making recycling more profitable and curbing plastic waste, especially from single-use products, are among the key initiatives of the strategy.
A number of startups are playing their part in this endeavour as well. British startup Xampla is one such startup. It has raised £6.2M (approx €6.8M) in its Seed round of funding, as it plans to replace microplastics and single-use plastics with its entirely natural plant-protein alternatives.
The raised capital will help the startup to accelerate the roll-out of its next-generation plastic replacement. The investment follows a £2M (approx €2.2M) round announced in April last year.
Investors in this round
The current round was led by Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm of Li Ka-shing – one of the most prominent and influential businessmen in Asia, and an investor in some of the world’s most innovative companies and disruptive technologies including Facebook, Zoom, Waze, and Spotify, among others.
Xampla is also backed by deeptech investors including Amadeus Capital Partners, Cambridge Enterprise, and the impact investment fund Sky Ocean Ventures.
Everything about Xampla
Founded in 2018 by Professor Tuomas Knowles, Dr March Rodriguez Garcia, and Simon Hombersley, Xampla is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge. The startup claims to have created the world’s first plant protein material for commercial use.
Unlike current alternatives to microplastics, which are based on plant polysaccharides, such as cellulose and algae, Xampla’s plant protein materials do not rely on chemical cross-linking for their performance. This enables them to decompose quickly and completely in the natural environment.
Xampla’s mission is to replace the everyday single-use plastics you see all around, like sachets and flexible packaging films. And the less obvious, such as microplastics within liquids and lotions.
Plastic problems
Microplastics are commonly added to fabric softeners, shampoos and cosmetics, agricultural and industrial products. Many of these products end up in the ocean, where they are ingested by marine life, blocking digestion, affecting nutrition and working their way up the food chain, potentially to humans.
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) found that each year in Europe added microplastics equivalent to 10 billion plastic bottles were released into the environment and were practically impossible to remove. This is why the startup wants to help manufacturers make the transition from traditional plastics to high performance, non-synthetic alternative.
Xampla offers a natural solution to industry partners. “We replace synthetic materials and polymers. Most natural alternatives to plastic require chemical additions and are based on plant polysaccharides. Xampla engineers the next generation of bio-based material, made entirely from plant protein, enabling companies to produce end-products that meet changing consumer and regulatory requirements. Our science is Supramolecular Engineered Protein (SEP), developed over fifteen years at the University of Cambridge.”
Xampla currently holds two patents for the new material. The funding will help the company develop its prototype material into products, such as films, gels and capsules. It also claims to be the UK’s first university spin-out to be accredited B Corp status.
