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Fibres/​Yarns/​Fabrics

Calyxia raises $35 million

New products enable manufacturers to replace traditional microplastic microcapsules and microparticle-based ingredients that are currently widely used.

17th September 2024

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Paris

Clothing/​Footwear

Paris-based Calyxia has raised $35 million in a series B funding round.

The certified B Corp cleantech company has developed a proprietary manufacturing technology to produce the world’s first advanced performance and sustainable microparticle and microcapsule products.

Calyxia products uniquely combine biodegradability, advanced performance and cost-effectiveness, allowing manufacturers to replace traditional microplastic microcapsules and microparticle- based ingredients that are currently widely used and critical to the performance of many advanced materials including cosmetics, laundry care and crop protection products, in addition to performance additives for textiles.

The company is enjoying significant tailwinds after the European Commission passed a law in October 2023 banning intentionally added microplastics in Europe, with regulators across the world preparing similar restrictions.

Calyxia was founded in 2015 by a group of scientists from Harvard University, ESPCI-Paris PSL in France and the UK’s Cambridge University. It installed and qualified its first fully operational factory in 2023 and has secured commercial partnerships for mass-volume industrial applications with leading companies in the agriculture, consumer care and advanced materials markets.

With the backing of this new funding round and of the France 2030 development programme, Calyxia plans to expand its commercial and industrial operations, beginning with the establishment of new headquarters and a second production site in the Paris region by the first quarter of 2025, bringing production capacity to 3,000 tons per year.

“Our customers are eager to reduce the environmental impact of their products, but they often face trade-offs with performance and profitability, which hinders widespread adoption,” said Jamie Walters, CEO and co-founder of Calyxia. “This investment will accelerate the widespread deployment of our products, allowing manufacturers to reduce plastic pollution and GHG emissions, whilst boosting their product performance and profitability, unlocking impact at scale.”

The round was led by Lombard Odier Investment Managers, through its Plastic Circularity Fund and Bpifrance, through its Large Venture Fund, with strong support from existing investors.

www.calyxia.com

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