Watermans Bay-based biotechnology company Uluu is among 49 local innovators to receive government funding designed to help scale business ideas.
Uluu, the pioneer behind the world’s first seaweed-derived alternative to plastic, was this week one of 11 companies awarded up to $200,000 through the Commercialisation Bridge Grant (CBG).
The funding will help Uluu develop semi-industrial manufacturing equipment, undertake prototype production, and conduct operational test runs to produce biodegradable plastics products derived from seaweed.
The company is working towards scaling up a demonstration plant, which aims to produce approximately 500 tonnes of plastic alternative annually.
Further down the track, Uluu‘s first full-scale commercial plant is anticipated to produce around 10,000t of plastic alternative per year.
Uluu currently produces between one and two kilograms of product per week at a cost around five times higher than regular plastic, with both constrained by the size of its operating facility.
A concept conceived by ecologist Julia Reisser – who has a PhD in ocean plastics – and M&A lawyer Michael Kingsbury, Uluu is focused on reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean by producing an alternative to synthetic materials.
Together, they introduced a biodegradable alternative to plastic derived from seaweed, rather than from fossil fuels.
Uluu employs specialised microbes to ferment polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from seaweed, processing them into a powdered form and moulding them into pellets, primed for use in manufacturing.
“What Uluu has been able to do what no-one else in the world has demonstrated is producing PHAs from seaweed,” Uluu communications and sustainability lead Michelle Wheeler said.
“These PHAs exhibit plastic-like properties: they’re strong, lightweight, and waterproof. They act like [conventional] plastics but biodegrade and contribute positively to climate efforts. Seaweed [proves pivotal] due to its scalability and carbon absorption during growth, making this material climate-positive.”
The company received a full $200,000 grant for its work under the CBG alongside a raft of other Western Australian startups.
Other CBG funding recipients included Neurotologix, VetChip, Customa, SpaceDraft, SynGenis, Juice Batteries, Whole Green Foods, Engentus, Azitec and Agile 8.
Neurotologix, which is pioneering technology to remote monitor vertigo and dizziness symptoms in medical patients, received $498,920 through the government’s latest Innovation Seed Fund round announced this afternoon.
A further 38 companies were awarded cash from the latest round of the government’s Innovation Booster Grant, designed to help advance their ideas.
More than $3.5 million was granted between the two programs. The bulk of the spend is sourced from the state’s New Industries Fund.
“We want local innovators to build their businesses here in WA where they can continue to generate connections and develop their businesses,” Innovation and the Digital Economy Minister Stephen Dawson said.
