The hunt for a viable, scalable alternative to petroleum-based plastic is a holy grail for climate tech. Perth-based startup Uluu is betting the answer lies in seaweed, and it just raised a $16 million Series A to prove it can move from the lab to the factory floor.

The round was led by German growth investor Burda Principal Investments, a returning backer from Uluu's 2023 funding. Other investors in the round include Main Sequence, Novel Investments (family office of one of the world’s largest textile groups), Startmate, plus impact investors Fairground & Trinity Ventures

It’s a vote of confidence in Uluu’s tech, which promises a material that performs like conventional plastic but is fully home compostable and marine biodegradable.

The new capital is earmarked to build a 10-tonne-per-year demonstration plant in Western Australia. This represents a 100x scale-up from its current 100kg/year pilot facility—a critical jump from R&D to commercial production.

This is the make-or-break moment for many hard-tech companies: proving commercial viability.

“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,” said Uluu co-founder and co-CEO Michael Kingsbury. “The demonstration plant is a critical step in showing Uluu can scale to truly compete with and replace fossil plastics.”

Founded in 2021, Uluu’s process uses fermentation, which it likens to brewing beer, to convert seaweed into natural polymers known as PHAs.

The company claims this material can be processed using existing plastic manufacturing equipment, a crucial detail for any startup hoping to unseat an entrenched, trillion-dollar industry. Unlike its fossil-fuel counterpart, Uluu's material is described as strong, lightweight, waterproof, reusable, recyclable, non-toxic, and, critically, won't leave microplastics behind.

“Seaweed grows quickly and gets everything it needs from the sun and the sea,” said co-founder and co-CEO Dr Julia Reisser. “It locks away CO2 and helps clean up pollutants from the ocean. By harnessing seaweed, Uluu is producing materials that have a positive, rather than negative, impact on the environment, while ending plastic pollution.”

Uluu is making big climate claims to match, asserting that at commercial scale, its process "has scope to sequester and avoid up to ~5kg CO₂ equivalent for every 1kg of material produced," compared to the ~3kg emitted by traditional plastic. The company projects its tech has the potential to reduce global CO₂ emissions by more than 2 gigatonnes per year.

This isn't just a science project; partners are already lining up. Uluu reports it's already collaborating with global brands, including public campaigns with Quiksilver, Papinelle, and Audi.

“At BPI, we invest in companies driving transformative innovation with the potential to become a global category leader,” said Christian Teichmann, CEO of Burda Principal Investments. “Having first invested in Uluu in 2023, we’re excited to further deepen our partnership as the company scales its pioneering technology. Uluu is redefining how materials can be produced more sustainably at an industrial scale, and we look forward to supporting Julia, Michael, and their team on this next stage of their journey.”

The 23-person company (up from 13 this year) and 2025 SXSW Innovation Award winner isn't stopping at the demo plant. The Series A is also intended to "prime Uluu for future growth," with plans already underway for a full commercial-scale facility to serve global markets.