Suzano Ventures invests up to US$5 million into Bioform Technologies to further develop bio-based plastic alternatives
24 April 2024 - 5:01PM
Business Wire
- Suzano Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Suzano,
the world’s largest market pulp producer, is funding up to US$5
million for Canadian startup, Bioform Technologies
- Bioform’s innovative materials, developed at the University of
British Columbia, offer sustainable, bio-based alternatives to
single-use plastics
- Financing will be used to demonstrate the potential for
Bioform’s technology to rapidly scale and reach
cost-competitiveness with single-use plastics by modifying
manufacturing processes widely used in the pulp and paper
industry
Suzano Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Suzano,
the world’s largest market pulp producer, has made a strategic
investment into the Canadian materials science startup, Bioform
Technologies. The investment provides up to US$5 million towards
the company’s seed round, enabling it to accelerate the development
of its novel bio-based plastic alternatives. The products can be
manufactured through modified industrial processes already used in
the pulp and paper sector.
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.
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.
Chris Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Bioform Technologies,
said:
“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. 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.”
Paula Puzzi, Senior Manager at Suzano Ventures, said:
“We’ve looked closely at Bioform’s technology
and we see great promise in their technology and ability to disrupt
the industry. Around the world, there are a number of innovations
being developed that each offer more sustainable alternatives to
the mountains of single-use plastic that we throw away each year,
polluting our cities and soils, rivers, and seas. The great
challenge is scaling production and getting to cost competitiveness
versus cheap single-use plastic. By using renewable material and
harnessing established industrial processes and machinery from the
pulp and paper sector, we believe that Bioform has the opportunity
to disrupt established supply chains and rapidly replace the need
for fossil-based materials.”
Bioform has previously raised US$2.4 million from direct
investments and US$1.2 million from non-dilutive sources to
streamline its technology and validate performance and processes in
its labs. 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.
About Suzano Ventures
Suzano Ventures is the venture capital arm of Suzano, the
world’s largest market pulp producer - the key raw material for
paper and packaging products that are part of the lives of more
than 2 billion people around the world in over 100 countries. We
invest globally in businesses that are pioneering innovative
approaches to harness the power of trees, to help build the future
of the bioeconomy.
We are committing an initial US$70 million to support the
development and growth of companies across four investment areas:
novel applications for eucalyptus biomaterials, sustainable
packaging, forestry technology, and carbon removal. We help
startups to grow, which in turn have the potential to develop and
help shape the future of Suzano’s business.
Our strategic investments deliver shared value. By placing
science at the heart of business, we help early-stage startups to
grow, which, in turn, have the potential to develop and help shape
the future of Suzano's business.
We provide our portfolio companies with capital, technical
expertise, and market insights, alongside access to our global
operations, supply chain and customer base. This includes the
ability to engage with our hundreds of scientists, engineers, and
technologists, based at Suzano’s research centers and operations
across four continents.
www.suzanoventures.com
About Bioform Technologies
Founded in 2021, Bioform has developed a proprietary method to
manufacture plastic alternatives based on wood pulp reinforced
hydrogels at high speeds by modifying existing pulp and paper
making machinery. The manufacturing process has a low carbon
footprint and can produce highly versatile materials to replace a
wide range of single use plastics. Bioform has developed both
compostable and paper-recyclable films that can be heat sealed or
thermoformed depending on the application.
Bioform’s core technology was developed at the University of
British Columbia by co-founders Jordan MacKenzie, the company’s
current CTO, and Mark Martinez, Professor, Bio-Products Institute,
University of British Columbia.
For further information please contact Chris Clark at
cclark@bioformtech.com
www.bioformtech.com
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240424575263/en/
Sarah Clarbour s.clarbour@hawthornadvisors.com
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