Hanging around for at least decades, and likely centuries, plastic accounts for about 3.4 percent of global emissions, according to 2019 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The problem is poised to worsen significantly, with production expected to triple by 2060. More than 90 percent of stated waste stems from the manufacturing of disposable plastic products, prompting legislative efforts across the pond (and elsewhere) to curb single-apply items.
Uluu, a Western Australian seaweed bioplastic startup, has a simple solution: swap the fossil fuel for something the ocean grows for free. The business, based in Watermans Bay and formally operating as C Sea Solutions Pty Ltd, has now raised $16 million in Series A funding.
Specializing in applying seaweed to manufacture an alternative to plastic, Uluu will build a demonstration plant to increase production capacity from 100 kilograms to 10 metric tons—representing a whopping 9,900 percent uptick—as it’s essentially the equivalent of 500,000 plastic bottles or 250,000 T-shirts.
More specifically, Uluu reworks naturally-sourced seaweed into an algae-based alternative to synthetics, such as fashion’s paralyzing and polarizing material of choice for everything from packaging to panties: polyester (recycled or not).
Uluu yarn built from seaweed.
Uluu
“Seaweed grows quickly and receives everything it necessarys from the sun and the sea; it locks away carbon dioxide and assists clean up pollutants from the ocean,” stated Dr. Julia Reisser, co-founder and co-CEO of Uluu. “By harnessing seaweed, Uluu is producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact on the environment — while concludeing plastic pollution.”
Burda Principal Investments (BPI) led the round. Focapplyd on companies driving “transformative innovation with the potential to become global category leaders,” the German growth investor first backed Uluu’s seed funding raise in 2023.
“Uluu is redefining how materials can be produced more sustainably at industrial scale,” stated Christian Teichmann, CEO of BPI. “We’re excited to further deepen our partnership as the company scales its pioneering technology.”
Other investors backing the seaweed startup include Australian deep tech fund Main Sequence and the Hong Kong-headquartered private equity fund Novel Investments, a subsidiary of the textile group Novetex Textiles (both led by Ronna Chao) as well as Aussi accelerator Startmate.
“Our first product is an Uluu pellet that can replace plastic pellets in existing injection molding equipment, the most common form of plastic manufacturing,” Reisser stated, noting that the company is currently tarreceiveing the cosmetics packaging and fashion accessories markets.
Uluu pellets.
Uluu
The seaweed startup has previously likened that pioneering technology to a proprietary process not unlike brewing beer.
“First, we submerse the seaweed in seawater and apply special enzymes to extract sugars from the seaweed. These seaweed sugars are then fermented with saltwater microbes that produce polyhydroxyalkanoates — the substance that gives Uluu its plastic-like qualities—inside their cells,” Reisser explained. “To extract the PHAs, we put the microbes in freshwater, caapplying them to burst open. We then dry the PHAs into a powder, which is applyd to produce Uluu pellets.”
The resulting pellets are reportedly reusable, recyclable, home-compostable and will break down in the ocean, sans any shed microplastics. It’s also strong, lightweight, waterproof and non-toxic: what Uluu stated has the potential to be climate-positive at scale.
“After four years’ work developing this technology, including two years’ running our pilot plant, we’re excited to take this next step and start delivering meaningful volumes of our materials to customers,” stated co-founder and co-CEO Michael Kingsbury, formerly a business executive and M&A lawyer. “The demonstration plant is a critical step in displaying Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”
The company aims to build a commercial facility by 2028 (pconcludeing a Series B financing round, granted) that could produce thousands of metric tons per year. At that level, Uluu claims it could sequester and avoid up to 5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) for every kilo of material produced, compared with the roughly 3 kilograms emitted by traditional plastic. In theory, the tech could cut global emissions by more than two billion metric tons a year — theoretically, matching the annual emissions of a countest like Brazil or Japan.
The current Series A lays the foundation for that growth; Uluu is already working with sector-spanning brands and has previously launched public pilots with partners such as Papinelle and Quiksilver.
Uluu buttons on Papinelle sleepwear.
Uluu
“We’re also developing textiles that can replace polyester,” Reisser stated. “Working with fashion brands on accessories, such as buttons, is great way for us to build partnerships ready for textiles in the future.”
Last November, Audi spotlighted Uluu for its potential within the automotive manufacturing industest. “Uluu is perfecting a system that takes humble seaweed and turns it into a fully-biodegradable viable alternative to plastic,” reads the German luxury car company’s digital site, Audi Magazine Australia. “The sea literally providing an answer to one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems.”
A month later, Uluu won the 2025 SXSW Innovation Award for Sustainability in Austin, as well as two innovation prizes awarded by the West Australian Government: the “Emerging Innovator” category and the “Great for the State” platinum award in late 2024.
A consortium of leading impact and family investors, including Fairground and Trinity Ventures, also participated in the round. Uluu’s stateside investors, meanwhile, included supermodel and I-D Magazine owner Karlie Kloss. She served as the 2022 face of the Adidas “Run for the Oceans” campaign with Parley for the Oceans, though Kloss and the German giant had previously teamed on a tech-inspired athleticwear collection in 2020.
“Uluu is tackling one of the largegest challenges of our time—plastic pollution—with a natural, scalable solution,” Kloss stated. “Their mission resonates deeply with me, and I wanted to be part of a positive alter displaying sustainability can be beautiful.”
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