Michigan materials spinout Ecovia Renewables has secured capital from the university's Mints fund to take its total to $1.6m.
Ecovia Renewables, a US-based advanced materials spinout from University of Michigan, has received $500,000 from investors including university venture fund Michigan Invests In New Technology Startups (Mints).
Founded in 2014, Ecovia has created a microbe-based biopolymer called AzuraBase that provides an absorbent and biodegradable alternative to both traditional acrylamide polymers and biopolymers made from starch.
AzuraBase will initially be used to make cosmetic ingredients which discharge less polymer molecules on the skin, developed in partnership with health and beauty product additive supplier Seppic.
Ecovia will also commence trials in early-2019 of AzuraGel, a gel made from AzuraBase that could help manufacture highly-absorbent and biodegradable nappies, which it plans to prototype alongside other hygiene products with unspecified product manufacturers.
The spinout has now raised a total of $1.6m, according to the university, including $1m from an April 2018 seed round backed by Seppic and other unnamed investors.
Ecovia was co-founded by company president Jeremy Minty, a chemical engineering postdoctoral researcher at Michigan. He was aided by Xiaoxia Lin, associate professor of chemical engineering, who was brought in as Ecovia’s scientific adviser.
Lin said: “Microbes live in diverse communities, working together to achieve something that anyone alone cannot do. The idea is to basically recruit specialists like in human society.
“By having each specialist do really well in their own job but also coordinating together, we can achieve something that is much bigger.”
– Feature image courtesy of University of Michigan
