2nd Prize BIOPOLYMER Award 2021

traceless materials GmbH (Germany)

Innovation: traceless materials

Traceless Materials is a Hamburg-based startup. Founders Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare are not only convincing investors with a technology that allows polymers to be extracted and structured from agricultural byproducts. This creates biodegradable materials that have the potential to replace plastics, for example, in packaging.

Jury statement

Can natural materials that are neither chemically modified nor synthetically polymerized even be called plastics? The fact that this question was among those discussed at the jury meeting shows that the Hamburg-based start-up is treading new ground. The process, developed by co-founder Anne Lamp in scientific papers and for which a patent has been filed, makes it possible to produce storage-stable films, solid materials, and ultra-thin coatings from agricultural by-products. These have the advantageous properties of plastics, yet are completely compostable in nature. The fact that the starting materials do not compete with food production, the energy-saving process, and the end products do not require harmful additives such as solvents rounds out the overall concept of "traceless materials." Even though more extensive research is still needed before product maturity, the jury awarded second prize to this innovative approach, which has the potential to give rise to a new class of materials.

More about traceless