Pollution is a killer. Affecting over 100 million people, it is as deadly to humans as global diseases like malaria. And for nature, it’s a disaster. Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year.
Biomicrogel Group, an environmental biotech company, has raised $13 million to bring their products to the global market and save nature from pollution. The company has taken microgel technology from the medical and pharmaceutical industry to create industrial and home care products.
Its products clean water and hard surfaces from any oils, petroleum products, and integrated pollutions. What’s particularly noteworthy is that biomicrogels act immediately, remove pollution, and decompose by 98% in 24 hours. The substances are made from plant raw materials and, as a result, pose no harm to nature.
Having seen some amazing plant-based technologies being used to clear up pollution, why are biomicrogels a better option than, for example, the mycelium-based solutions that exist?
“It’s an interesting direction, but to my knowledge, it remains a curious experiment, and I haven’t personally seen any real-life applications of that technology,” Andrey Elagin, Founder and Managing Partner at Biomicrogel Group said. “The advantage of biomicrogels is that they can be produced affordable at scale from purely organic sources (apple and sugar beet pomace, cellulose). Biomicrogels act immediately, effectively remove pollution and decompose by 100% (98% in one day). The oil and other materials captured by them can also be safely extracted and put back into production.”
The Group has more than 80 patents in 62 countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia, and operates in the B2B and B2C markets. From June through to August of 2020, the company’s water purification products liquidated one of the most significant environmental disasters — the diesel fuel spill accident in Norilsk.
In 2019, the company released a line of eco-friendly home care products based on biomicrogels under the WONDER LAB brand: the line includes products for house cleaning, laundry, gel for washing children’s dishes and toys, foam for cleaning fruits and vegetables, and other products. Recently the team introduced its first pet care products, and this year WONDER LAB will expand the range to 90-100 items. WONDER LAB products are already sold in major chain stores throughout Russia, and now the company brings them to the global market.
Also, the company has found some interesting uses for its products beyond cleaning and pollution eradication.
“Unique use cases we’ve seen include the extraction of palm oil, which no other solution can do,” Elagin said.
Biomicrogel Group employs more than 100 people, has four chemical laboratories and two production facilities. In 2020, the company opened representative offices in Europe and Southeast Asia to launch operations in these markets. It’s also planning to launch a new production facility in Europe. The team will spend the money raised on moving into the international market, expanding the product line, and increasing production capacity. Swiss investor Gregory Berenstein led the round.
“Our technology is already used in Indonesia and Malaysia, and we’re discussing a possibility to use it to clean water near Rotterdam and Antwerp ports in the Netherlands,” Elagin said. “We are actively building partnership network with some of the largest chemicals distributors and equipment manufacturers and in Europe, Asia, and the USA. The funding will be key in building biomicrogel and home care production facilities in key target geographies. With that funding, we’re planning to bring our brand of home care supplies to the European and Asian markets as well as to intensify the roll-out of the proven and validated B2B solutions.”
