Imperial Innovations Group plc (AIM: IVO, 'Innovations'), a leading technology commercialisation and investment group, has led an £8m funding round in Plaxica, a technology and licensing company focused on the production of next generation biopolymers and platform chemicals from renewable resources. Innovations has committed close to £3.9m, alongside existing investors Invesco Perpetual and NESTA Investments who contributed £3.9m and £0.25m respectively.
Plaxica's technology enables the manufacture of a range of high performance polylactic acid (PLA) polymers and intermediates with improved properties and a reduced cost of production compared with PLA polymers already on the market. They also represent a sustainable alternative to current oil-based materials as they are bio-based, fully recyclable and have a smaller environmental footprint.
The global PLA market is growing at a rate of in excess of 20% per year, and is expected to reach $1 billion by 2016. Plaxica's biopolymers are aimed at applications as diverse as packaging, electronic goods, automotive parts and textiles. The additional funding will allow Plaxica to construct its second lactic acid demonstration plant and to progress a number of important partnership and licensing discussions.
To date, the company has raised approximately £10m from investors; Innovations will hold a 35% stake upon completion of the £8m investment.
Plaxica was founded in 2008, built on work carried out in the laboratories of Professor Vernon Gibson and Dr Edward Marshall at Imperial College London. The Company has offices in London, and a pilot plant facility at the Wilton Centre in Cleveland.
Russ Cummings, Chief Executive Officer, Imperial Innovations, said:
"Plaxica has a strong management team, and its biopolymer process technology is rightly attracting significant interest from a range of industry sectors in both the US and Asia. This further investment of £8m is another example of our putting capital to work in our portfolio to enable Plaxica to convert that partnering interest into value."
Philip Goodier, Chief Executive Officer, Plaxica, said:
"Since our Series B financing in 2011, Plaxica has made great progress. We have built and are now successfully operating the demonstration plant for our Optipure® technology. In addition, we have advanced our transformational low cost lactic acid technology to the point where we are on the verge of building a second demonstration plant for this process. Our intellectual property portfolio has expanded significantly and we have high levels of interest in our technology from potential licensees. I would like to thank our investors for the faith that they have shown in the company and our employees with this investment."
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