Biotic: Turning seaweed into fully biodegradable plastics
2025-11-25
Biotic is founded in 2020 and based Israel, is developing a next generation microbial fermentation process to produce fully biodegradable plastics, using seaweed as feedstock. The company brings together a team of sixteen, including biologists, polymer engineers and fermentation specialists, and is now preparing to open a second location in the Netherlands to accelerate its scale up.
Their mission is simple but ambitious. They want “to create a world where plastic is no longer a concern.” A world in which consumers can pick up everyday products such as packaging, electronics, textiles or household goods without wondering which bin it belongs in or how long it will remain in the environment. Biotic aims to replace fossil-based plastics in a one-to-one way with a natural and biodegradable material that fits seamlessly into existing manufacturing lines.
From seaweed carbohydrates to high Performance polymers
Products made of fully biodegradable plastics by Biotic
Biotic works with seaweed as the starting point and have the ability to process 5 major and widely available types. The team extracts carbohydrates (sugars) from the biomass and feeds them to a specially designed microbial fermentation process. Through fermentation, the company’s microorganism converts the sugars into a natural co-polymer called PHBV. By adjusting the ratio between the internal HB and HV monomers, Biotic can tailor the polymer’s characteristics. It can be rigid for products like car parts or electronics or very flexible for bags or fibres, and anything in between.
The result of their special process is a material that looks and behaves like conventional plastic yet biodegrades naturally. Tests already show full biodegradation after twenty-eight days in marine environment and around eighteen days in anaerobic landfill conditions.
After extraction, the polymer is delivered as powder or as pellets. Manufacturers can simply replace their fossil-based polymers with Biotic’s material without adjusting their existing production lines. The company believes that sustainability should not require disruptive changes.
A circular process with very little waste
Besides the polymer itself, the fermentation process also yields byproducts in the form of lipids, proteins, pigments and others, which can be used in the food and cosmetics industries or in other biobased applications. The company aims for a circular system with very little to zero waste.
Biotic designs and builds much of its own fermentation equipment. This reduces investment costs, energy consumption and operational expenses. Instead of a sterile and batch-based system, the company works with a continuous nonsterile fermentation process. This makes the process more cost effective and easier to scale.
Scaling up for real market impact
At present the company operates a pilot facility, producing at Kgs scale. The next scaling up is to demo scale, producing hundreds of Kgs/month, while maintaining efficiency and product quality.
“Scaling sounds easy, but every step brings new challenges,” Dror explains. “You cannot simply double a process and expect it to behave in the same way. Each scale requires careful engineering.”
The company is already running successful pilots with large international partners in various industries and show the wide range of applications for their bio-based polymer, from packaging and food to cosmetics, fibres and even automotive parts.
What Biotic is looking for in the ESWA Network
As new members of the European Seaweed Association, Biotic is keen to connect with partners across the European value chain. They are
Algae biomass from European sources
Biotic is now establishing a second company in the Netherlands. Once their Dutch facility is operational, expected early 2026, they will begin testing local seaweed species. Therefore, they seek collaboration with suppliers.
Waste streams from seaweed processing
If waste streams contain sugars, Biotic can use them as feedstock for their fermentation process. This creates new value for processors with unused by products.
Collaboration and knowledge exchange
The Team of Biotic.
The company is open to joint research, pilot projects, material testing and partnerships with organisations exploring biobased materials.
“We are very open to collaboration and to new partners,” they emphasize. “Anyone working with algae is welcome to reach out.”
Learn more about biotic Circular Technologies
