A UK startup, Epoch Biodesign, has secured an oversubscribed $18.3 million in Series A funding to tackle the world's staggering plastic waste problem using enzyme technology. Founded in 2019 by Jacob Nathan, the company has developed a library of plastic-eating enzymes that can break down resistant waste, starting with polyester and two types of nylon.

The biotech startup, which has grown to a 30-strong multidisciplinary team of chemists, biologists, and software engineers, plans to use the new funding to scale up production of its enzymes. This involves transferring the biorecycling process from the labs to its first production facility, which is expected to be able to process 150 tonnes of waste per year once it's up and running.

The world's plastic waste problem is vast, with approximately 400 million tonnes of plastic produced annually, according to the UN. Only a tiny fraction of this waste gets recycled, with the majority ending up in landfills or oceans, causing environmental and health concerns. As a result, there is growing pressure on regulators and businesses to act on plastic pollution.

Epoch Biodesign is part of a growing number of startups working on technologies to tackle plastic waste from various angles. However, the company's focus on biorecycling, which uses biological entities to break down resistant waste, sets it apart. The startup's goal is to disrupt the plastic pollution cycle by powering up biorecycling-based circularity, starting with common synthetic fabrics.

The biotech startup's approach involves using generative AI to accelerate the discovery of biological catalysts that can tackle plastic waste quickly. This has enabled the company to shortcut the search for potentially useful agents, fine-tuning large language models with information on proteins and amino acids, as well as proprietary data from its own lab work on plastic-eating enzymes.

The company's enzyme design search has resulted in speed improvements of up to 25x, according to Nathan. This means that less enzyme is required in the process, reducing the capital expenditure associated with manufacturing the enzyme. Ultimately, this translates into a lower cost of goods for output.

Epoch Biodesign's focus is on cost and commercial scale, with plans to build its first production facility in the UK this year. The company claims that its biological recycling process is "incredibly high yield" compared to industrial recycling, with upwards of 90% of waste being reclaimed in a reusable state.

The startup's approach also has additional benefits, such as the potential to incorporate additional purification by having the enzymes "scrub" undesirable chemicals. However, Nathan concedes that even biorecycling of plastics won't fix the problem of microplastics, where tiny pieces of plastic can wash out of garments made from synthetic fabrics and find their way into the environment.

The Series A round is led by the climate-focused fund Extantia Capital, with Day One Ventures, Happiness Capital, Kibo Invest, Lowercarbon Capital, and others participating alongside Inditex, a Spanish fast fashion giant that has inked a multi-year "joint development agreement" with Epoch. The UK government has also provided a $1M grant to support the startup's mission.

With a total capital raised to date of $34 million, Epoch Biodesign is poised to make a significant impact in the fight against plastic waste. As Nathan notes, "We want to produce material that's actually useful... We want to produce something for brands that is, you know, indistinguishable from the stuff that they're using today."