28th April 2023 – London, UK
- The funding round, which includes industrial partner Indorama Ventures, marks a major milestone in Polymateria’s efforts to tackle plastic pollution globally
- Polymateria’s biotransformation technology safely returns commonly polluted plastic items to nature without leaving any microplastics or toxic residue, and has gained significant traction among customers worldwide
- The proceeds from this funding round will be used to accelerate the commercialisation of Polymateria’s technology at scale, while also prioritising investment in its people and R&D capabilities
Polymateria Limited (“Polymateria” or the “Company”), the British company which has pioneered biotransformation technology, today announced the successful completion of its Series B funding round. In a major boost to its mission to combat plastic pollution, Polymateria’s £20 million funding round was led by Singapore-based impact private equity fund ABC Impact and sustainable chemical company Indorama Ventures.
Proceeds from the funding round will be used to accelerate commercialisation of Polymateria’s biotransformation technology on a global scale. The company intends to both increase penetration into existing markets and expand into new markets where fugitive plastic pollution is most acute, including developing further in Asia. Polymateria also plans to boost its R&D capabilities by investing into its in-house laboratory at Imperial College London.
Lee Davy-Martin, Co-Founder and Board Member of Polymateria, said:
“I’m tremendously excited to be embarking on the next step of Polymateria’s journey. We founded Polymateria to make a real difference to one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges. With the backing of investors like ABC Impact and Indorama Ventures, we are well on the way to achieving our mission.”
The Company’s biotransformation technology has uniquely proven full biodegradation of plastic items into water, CO2 and biomass without leaving any microplastic or toxic residue in the open environment. The technology can be deployed with no changes to existing manufacturing processes and is compatible with existing recycling streams, giving it unrivalled scalability. Recent high-profile customers include Twickenham Rugby Stadium, the Chicago Marathon and 7-ELEVEN Taiwan.
Sugandhi Matta, Chief Impact Officer at ABC Impact, commented:
“With the strength of Polymateria’s scientific underpinning and the vast scalability of its technology, we believe that the solution developed by the company can help address challenges in plastic packaging related pollution. We look forward to helping the team expand its commercialization reach and further generate impact at scale in Asia.”
Yash Lohia, Chairman of the ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said:
“We’re delighted to be following our money into Polymateria’s Series B round. What started as a relationship between customer and technology provider has now become a strategic alliance. IVL is excited by the potential of Polymateria’s biotransformation technology and we look forward to seeing it rolled out on supermarket shelves with many of the world’s most recognised brands.”
Polymateria has appointed Sugandhi Matta to its board, which is chaired by the Blackstone Group International Partners Chair, Marc Bolland.
About Polymateria
Polymateria aims to utilise scientific advancements to address the issue of plastic pollution. Established at Imperial College London, the company has become the first entity to demonstrate, through scientific evidence, that the most prevalent sources of unmanaged plastic waste can be returned to nature without generating microplastics, negatively impacting the ecosystem or disrupting recycling processes on a large scale. As a result of its efforts to promote circularity and combat plastic pollution, Polymateria was honoured as a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer in 2021.
Press contact:
Charlotte Kelly / Louisa Cervero
About ABC Impact
ABC Impact is a Singapore-headquartered and Asia-focused private equity fund dedicated to impact investing. We invest in companies that drive positive change by addressing the world’s most pressing challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, and deepening inequality. Our investment themes include financial and digital inclusion, better health and education, climate and water solutions, and sustainable food and agricultures.
We believe that investing with an impact lens demonstrates the positive power of private capital and can help to foster more innovative and resilient companies that deliver societal and environmental benefits. We are a disciplined investor with a rigorous and evidence-based impact assessment approach that aims to generate positive and measurable social or environmental outcomes, alongside a compelling risk-adjusted return for our investors.
Established in 2019, we are a division of Temasek Trust Asset Management Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based global asset management firm. Our founding investors are Temasek Trust, Temasek, Pavilion Capital, Mapletree Investments, Seatown Holdings, SP Group, and Sembcorp industries.
ABC Impact is a signatory of the Operating Principles for Impact Management and the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment.
Our annual impact report, “Shaping the Climate for Impact”, is available at www.abcimpact.com.sg/impactreport2022
For more information, please visit www.abcimpact.com.sg
For media queries: media@abcimpact.com.sg
About Indorama Ventures
Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, listed in Thailand (Bloomberg ticker IVL.TB), is one of the world’s leading petrochemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Europe, Africa, Americas, and Asia Pacific. The company’s portfolio comprises Combined PET, Integrated Oxides and Derivatives, and Fibers. Indorama Ventures products serve major FMCG and automotive sectors, i.e., beverages, hygiene, personal care, tire and safety segments. Indorama Ventures has about 26,000 employees worldwide and revenue of US$18.7 billion in 2022. The Company is listed in the Dow Jones Emerging Markets and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI).
Media Contact
Stuart Kelly
Tel: +66 2 661 6661