UBC spinoff Bioform Technologies has secured a $5 million seed round investment from Suzano Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Suzano, the world’s largest market pulp producer.
The strategic investment will enable Bioform to accelerate the development of its novel bio-based plastic alternatives.
Bioform’s proprietary technology rapidly produces wood pulp-reinforced hydrogels to create high-performance plastic alternatives, which can be made using Suzano’s wood pulp fibre as a key input.
Bioform’s materials have the potential to be home compostable or recycled through existing paper recycling processes and do not require fossil-based inputs.
The technology is highly versatile and has a number of applications where it could replace conventional single-use plastics, including paper recyclable thermoformable films for packaging applications and compostable heat-sealable films for pouches, agriculture, and garbage bags.
“Our goal is to produce sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics at the speed of paper and at the cost of plastic. We are harnessing the speed and efficiency of pulp and paper manufacturing to make swift and impactful steps into the marketplace,” said Chris Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Bioform Technologies.
“The technical validation and strategic investment from Suzano Ventures gives us a link to the world’s largest market pulp producer. We can also access Suzano’s world-leading expertise to help us rapidly accelerate the production efficiencies and cost reductions needed to make a significant reduction in the reliance on single-use plastics.”
With the potential to offer an 80 percent lower carbon footprint than conventional single-use plastics, Bioform’s technology has similar or enhanced product performance to conventional plastics in areas such as tensile strength and permeability for oxygen or water vapor.
This funding from Suzano Ventures will enable the company to realize a demonstration facility to pilot its manufacturing process and expand its team and capabilities.
Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, Suzano is the world’s largest market pulp producer and one of Latin America’s largest paper manufacturers. Producing its pulp entirely from farmed eucalyptus, the company’s products reach over 2 billion people around the world in over 100 countries.
Suzano has had a presence in Canada since 2015, with a large research and development center for pulp, paper, and biomaterials technologies located in Vancouver.
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