A bio-based material designed to replace microplastics has taken a major step forward, backed by European funding. Danish industrial biotechnology company Cellugy has secured €8.1 million in grant funding from the EU LIFE Programme to scale up production and accelerate commercialization of its new material, EcoFLEXY.
EcoFLEXY is a cellulose-based rheology modifier developed by Cellugy as a sustainable alternative to fossil-derived carbomers, which are widely used in skincare and cosmetics. Carbomers are classified under the EU’s REACH regulation as persistent and toxic, and have raised growing concerns for their environmental and health impacts as microplastics. In contrast, EcoFLEXY is the first material of its kind to be fully bio-based, biodegradable, high-performance, and cost-competitive.
The grant will be distributed over the next four years as part of the BIOCARE4LIFE project and will support process optimization, commercial validation, and industrial-scale production of EcoFLEXY. The project aims to eliminate 1,289 tonnes of microplastic emissions annually by 2034, equivalent to removing millions of contaminated beauty products from global markets.
Isabel Alvarez-Martos, Cellugy’s co-founder and CEO, emphasized the company’s ambition to go beyond sustainability in name alone: “An alternative material that simply aims to be more sustainable is not enough; the critical challenge is about delivering bio-based solutions that actually outperform petrochemicals in performance parameters like texture, functionality, and user experience, while also being scalable and operationally efficient.”
She continued: “Good intentions won’t drive industry change; we need higher-quality alternatives like EcoFLEXY that make it easier, not harder, for brands to choose sustainability. Only when bio-based materials match or exceed the performance and economics of traditional ingredients will we see the transformation needed to protect both human health and our planet.”
As her words reflect, Cellugy is not merely promoting eco-consciousness; the company is driving a material-led transformation of the personal care industry, setting performance and scalability as prerequisites for true sustainability.
What further distinguishes EcoFLEXY is its superior stability, compatibility, and sensoriality, qualities that existing bio-based ingredients like xanthan gum or cellulose gum often fail to deliver. In cosmetics formulation, where texture and user experience are directly tied to brand value, a bio-based material that does not compromise on quality presents significant commercial promise.
To support the scale-up, Cellugy has partnered with two technical collaborators: The Footprint Firm, a circular economy consultancy, and Sci2sci, a Berlin-based startup specializing in AI-driven production optimization.
Will Nunn, Manager at The Footprint Firm, commented: “The project’s combination of technical innovation and sustainability validation positions EcoFLEXY very strongly for market adoption and supports the EU’s broader transition to a more resource-efficient economy.”
Angelina Lesnikova, CEO of Sci2sci, added: “Scaling a biotech solution is never simple, but it’s where the real value lies. Our role is to optimize every layer of production, from fermentation parameters to supply chain predictability, so that EcoFLEXY can compete with petrochemical alternatives not just on environmental benefits, but on cost and performance metrics that matter to manufacturers. Together we have the potential to make sustainable chemistry economically irresistible as well as environmentally essential.”
Don’t just make sustainability an option; make it the natural choice. That guiding principle has the potential to redefine the value standards of the global personal care industry in the years to come.
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