Paques Biomaterials has raised 14 million euros in investments to scale up the production of the biopolymer PHA from wastewater. Investors include NOM and Invest-NL. This investment round also includes a loan from Energiefonds Drenthe.
More than ten years ago, Paques started developing the technology to produce PHA from wastewater in collaboration with TU Delft. Three years ago, the technology was transferred to the spin-off company Paques Biomaterials. The innovative company will use the latest investment to scale up the technology. To this end, the company will build an extraction facility for the PHA in Emmen.
Large scale
Over the past three years, Paques Biomaterials further developed the technology to allow bacteria to convert organic waste into the biopolymer PHA. The company tested the technology on a laboratory and pilot scale. In 2022, the company built a demonstration plant in Dordrecht together with five Dutch water boards and the waste and energy company HVA. In addition, it has been working with Kolon Industries in South Korea, Looop in Venlo and Senbis Polymer Innovations in Emmen since 2023.
The company has plans to build a large-scale extraction plant, with which it can produce 6 kilotonnes of PHA per year.
