News & Press

Innovation Partnerships announced today that University of Michigan spinout Ecovia Bio, one of the Accelerate Blue Fund’s portfolio companies, has closed a successful Series B financing round to expand manufacturing of its biodegradable alternative to synthetic superabsorbent polymers, an ubiquitous source of microplastics.

The financing marks an important milestone for the company as it scales production to meet growing demand across the agriculture, cosmetics, and hygiene sectors. It also highlights the strength of the University of Michigan’s research commercialization ecosystem and the importance of early support for high-potential startups addressing major environmental challenges.

Microplastics, which result from the breakdown of everyday products such as water bottles, diapers, and cosmetics, have spread into landfills, waterways, soil, and even the human body, creating a growing environmental and public health challenge. Demand continues to rise from both industry and consumers for practical, cost-effective alternatives.

Ecovia Bio is one example of a promising solution emerging from U-M’s research commercialization ecosystem.

The company, formerly Ecovia Renewables Inc., spun out of the university in 2014. It has developed a novel process to produce gamma polyglutamic acid, a natural, biodegradable polymer that can replace synthetic, petroleum-derived materials used in a wide range of products that can shed or degrade into microplastics.

Ecovia Bio’s biopolymers are produced from low-cost, renewable feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane, and cellulose through a fermentation process based on the postdoctoral research of Jeremy Minty, now CTO of Ecovia Bio, under Xiaoxia “Nina” Lin, professor of chemical engineering and associate chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the U-M College of Engineering.

Building on earlier seed funding, including support from the University of Michigan Innovation Partnerships’ Accelerate Blue Fund and the Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups, or MINTS, program, Ecovia Bio was able to open the first commercial production facility of its kind last year in Livonia, Michigan. The Series B round positions the company to further expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen its commercial footprint in Michigan and beyond.

“Taking a novel fermentation technology from proof-of-concept to commercial production is not a short road. Critical early support from the Accelerate Blue Fund, federal funding, and Michigan’s innovation ecosystem gave Ecovia Bio the foundation to scale and we’re proud that our growth is now reinforcing the very infrastructure that made it possible.” stated Kousay Said, CEO of Ecovia Bio.

“Groundbreaking science emerges from our university every day, but the leap from laboratory breakthrough to commercial product is where most innovations stall,’ said Mike Psarouthakis, executive director of impact investments and strategic alliances at Innovation Partnerships. “That gap is exactly what the Accelerate Blue Fund was designed to close. By investing in ventures like Ecovia Bio at the pre-commercial stage when the science is sound but the market risk still feels high, we build the credibility that helps attract the private capital needed to bring these technologies to scale.”