Brewery biomaterials innovator raises £4 million
Arda Biomaterials, a London-based chemistry technology company that has created materials from spent grains from the brewing process, has closed an oversubscribed £4 million fundraising led by Germany’s Oyster Bay Venture Capital.
This round will allow Arda to continue research and development of New Grain, which is derived from the waste barley proteins of beer breweries and whisky distilleries, and expand into new facilities near London Bridge.
Brett Cotton, co-founder and CEO of Arda, said: “Breweries and distilleries can do much more than just provide a feedstock. We use the same equipment, they have internal science and engineering expertise, and they already have brand partnerships within fashion, automotive and sports, meaning scale, operational support and commercial connections that you simply won’t find with other feedstock providers.
“Working with brewers and distillers is really a super power to help us achieve the right pricing and scale necessary to make a significant impact across industries. Maybe someday we will even create global merchandise for brewers and distillers themselves.”
Dr TJ Mitchell, co-founder and chief technology officer, added: “The natural world has all the necessary building blocks to create incredible, environmentally friendly materials. The material has come a long way since the first experiments in my kitchen. We can’t wait to see it in more products.’’
Arda has also recently been accepted into the sixth cohort of the 100+ Accelerator - a corporate accelerator program with AB InBev, Danone, Unilever, Coca-Cola and Colgate-Palmolive - and will be running a pilot with Belgian brewer AB InBev.
Image: The Arda Biomaterials team at Kernel Brewery in London, while Arda’s new facility is under construction.
