From Ocean to Industry: Uluu’s $16M Series A Propels Seaweed-Based Plastics Toward Global Scale

Courtesy: Uluu

Australian startup Uluu is taking a decisive step in the global shift away from fossil-based materials. The Perth-based company has secured $16 million in Series A funding, led by Burda Principal Investments with participation from Main Sequence, Novel Investments, Startmate, and family offices including Fairground and Trinity Ventures. The capital will fuel the construction of a 10-tonne demonstration plant in Western Australia, expanding production from a 100kg pilot facility and paving the way for the industrial-scale rollout of its seaweed-based bioplastics.

Founded in 2021 by Dr. Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury, Uluu has developed a process that transforms seaweed into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a family of natural polymers produced by microbes through fermentation. The process mirrors brewing: microorganisms feed on the sugars from seaweed and produce PHAs, which Uluu then turns into pellets compatible with existing plastic manufacturing equipment. The materials offer all the advantages of conventional plastics, strength, flexibility, and waterproofness, without the environmental cost. They are home compostable, recyclable, marine biodegradable, and degrade naturally without leaving microplastics behind.

Uluu’s approach is also climate positive, capable of sequestering and avoiding up to 5 kg of CO₂ for every kilogram of material produced, compared with the 3 kg emitted by conventional plastics. At scale, the company estimates its technology could help reduce over two gigatonnes of CO₂ annually, positioning it not just as an alternative to plastic, but as a potential contributor to global decarbonization. “Seaweed gets everything it needs from the sun and the sea,” said Reisser. “It locks away CO₂ and helps clean up pollutants. By harnessing seaweed, we’re producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact on the planet.”

The New Wave of Ocean-Based Materials

Uluu’s timing couldn’t be better. As governments and corporations respond to plastic bans and net-zero targets, the bioplastics market is projected to reach $45 billion by 2033, yet it still accounts for under 2% of global plastics production, leaving enormous room for growth. Seaweed-based innovation in particular has gained traction thanks to its regenerative potential: it grows rapidly, needs no land or freshwater, and captures vast amounts of carbon.

Several startups are racing to scale similar technologies. The UK’s Notpla, winner of the Earthshot Prize, makes edible and compostable packaging from brown seaweed. Kelpi, also in the UK, focuses on flexible films and coatings for cosmetics and food. India’s Zerocircle is building seaweed packaging for the beauty industry, while the Netherlands’ Paques Biomaterials develops PHAs from waste and agricultural residues. Amid this wave, Uluu’s distinct focus on marine feedstock and carbon-sequestering production gives it a clear differentiator and a direct link to the growing blue economy, where ocean health and climate innovation converge.

For investors, that dual climate and commercial promise is compelling. “Uluu is redefining how materials can be produced sustainably at industrial scale,” said Christian Teichmann, CEO of Burda Principal Investments. “We’re excited to support Julia, Michael, and their team on this next stage of their journey.”

Returning investor Main Sequence, the deep-tech fund founded by CSIRO, and Novel Investments, the family office of one of the world’s largest textile groups, see opportunity well beyond packaging. Uluu is collaborating with Deakin University to spin PHA-based yarns, and its early partnerships with Quiksilver, Papinelle, and Audi have already produced prototype surf wax scrapers, buttons, and automotive components, each proof of concept for a world moving toward sustainable materials.

Challenges remain. The cost of scaling bioplastics, ensuring a consistent seaweed supply, and building a truly circular manufacturing model are not trivial. But Uluu’s next facility, ten tonnes of annual capacity, is designed precisely to demonstrate economic viability. Once proven, the company plans a commercial plant capable of producing thousands of tonnes per year for global markets.

“Plastic was once a symbol of modern progress,” said Reisser. “Now, the next chapter of progress must be materials that heal, not harm, the world they inhabit.”

From the shores of Western Australia to global manufacturing lines, Uluu’s seaweed-based plastics may offer the rare combination of performance, scalability, and planetary benefit, showing that the future of materials could, quite literally, begin in the ocean.