Closed Loop Partners renews biotech company investment to slash packaging waste

Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group announces its follow-on investment in Earthodic, a Brisbane-based biotechnology company creating recyclable bio-based coatings for paper packaging. 

Earthodic’s Biobarc is a water-resistant, repulpable and recyclable coating for paper packaging, offering a solution for brands and packaging manufacturers looking to transition away from wax and polymer film coatings to reduce plastic waste. 

Earthodic uses lignin –– a byproduct of paper manufacturing that is often discarded or burned for energy –– and reintegrates it into Biobarc to create a recyclable solution for paper packaging.

The investment is taking place as more corporations demand packaging alternatives that reduce waste while maintaining performance. 

Aly Bryan, investor on the Closed Loop Ventures Group team at Closed Loop Partners, says: “Packaging waste comprises 30% of materials sent to landfill today, creating a significant challenge for brands and packaging manufacturers looking to meet zero waste goals.”

“Earthodic’s coating offers a circular solution for paper packaging that can help divert materials from landfills while maintaining the same performance capabilities brands have come to expect from their packaging solutions.”

Earthodic uses lignin and reintegrates it into its Biobarc solution to create a recyclable solution for paper packaging. Unlocking bio-based opportunities

The US$4 million seed funding round was led by FTW Ventures, with participation from existing investors Closed Loop Partners’ Ventures Group, Tenacious Ventures and Investible. New investors, including Circulate Capital, Queensland Investment Corporation, UniQuest Fund, Significant Capital Ventures, Branch Venture Group and Redstick Ventures, have also joined.

Closed Loop Ventures Group’s investment in Earthodic advances the group’s mandate to deploy early-stage capital to founders and companies who rethink how products are designed, manufactured, consumed and recovered. 

Since Closed Loop Partners’ venture capital group launched in 2016, it has invested in over 40 companies advancing solutions that optimize supply chains and reduce reliance on fossil fuel extraction and landfilling.

Conventional paper packaging uses petroleum-based plastic liners, which help prevent leakage and maintain temperature but are often thrown away after use. 

Closed Loop Ventures Group saw an opportunity to advance bio-based coatings that can enable better performance of existing paper packaging or products and unlock opportunities to switch from non-recoverable single-use plastics to recoverable bio-based alternatives.

New markets and applications

Earthodic is now pursuing third-party certifications to ensure Biobarc’s compostability at industrial composting facilities in the US, creating more potential end-of-life pathways for the material.

“This is a key milestone for Earthodic as we expand our reach into new geographic markets and new paper packaging applications. Advancing a bio-based coating for paperboard can have a significant impact on plastic waste reduction,” says Anthony Musumeci, co-founder and CEO of Earthodic. 

With capital from its seed funding round, Earthodic will establish a second headquarters at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine Innovation Center, situated near a pilot coating plant and testing facilities used extensively by the paper industry. 

Earthodic’s main R&D hub will stay in Queensland, Australia. The company says it will deepen existing R&D partnerships with global leaders in paper packaging while continuing to sell Biobarc into non-food contact packaging at scale, as a superior solution to traditional wax and petroleum-based coatings.