Cellugy Secures €8.1M to Remove Microplastics From the Personal Care Industry With New Bio-Based Alternative

Danish biotech company Cellugy has secured an €8.1 million grant from the EU’s LIFE Programme for its BIOCARE4LIFE project. This funding will be used to scale up production of Cellugy’s biofabricated cellulose-based rheology modifier material, EcoFLEXY, designed to replace microplastics in cosmetics. The project aims to prevent the release of 259 tons of microplastics annually by project completion.

The project will focus on critical scaling activities, process optimization, and commercial validation over a four-year period. Cellugy hopes that EcoFLEXY will not only reduce environmental pollution and hazardous chemical use in the cosmetics sector but also provide superior product performance. The company aims to drive industry change by offering a bio-based alternative that outperforms petrochemicals in terms of texture, functionality, and user experience, while being scalable and operationally efficient.