Biotech startup RWDC Industries raises US$95.1m in Series B2 funding

SINGAPORE-BASED biotech startup RWDC Industries Limited has raised US$95.1 million in a Series B2 funding round co-led by Vickers Venture Partners and Temasek Holdings, the company announced on Tuesday (Nov 23).

The injection of funds, which takes total funding in the sustainable materials developer to US$208 million, will help the firm scale up in the US and start production in Singapore to speed adoption of its biodegradable biopolymer material for consumer packaged goods.

The round's participating investors include CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop, the pension fund of Switzerland's largest retail company, and Optimas Global Healthcare Fund, which is managed by Optimas Capital based in Hong Kong.

In a press statement, RWDC said the funds will be used to expand its PHA or sustainable biomaterials production capacity at its plant in Georgia, USA to 50 kilotons a year and to develop a production facility in Singapore.

The firm is currently in discussions with Singapore authorities to secure a site, it pointed out. When ready, the plant here will be the first of such facilities in the region, it added.

RWDC's chief executive officer and co-founder Daniel Carraway said the manufacture, consumption and disposal of consumer product packaging is a key contributor to two monumental environmental challenges - climate change and marine litter.

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The funds would thus help accelerate the production of its sustainable PHA material, called Solon, to support the largest packaging users to cut their use of fossil fuel-based plastics.

"It will speed up the adoption of sustainable packaging and help many of the world's largest brands meet their sustainable packaging commitments of having 100 per cent of their packaging be recyclable, biodegradable or compostable by 2025," he said.

Meanwhile, RWDC executive chairman and co-founder Roland Wee noted that the Singapore plant will be strategically located in Asia, as it is the epicentre of the global plastic waste and marine litter problem.

Singapore is also home to many of the global fast-moving consumer goods brands that rely on packaging to keep their products fresh and safe, he added.

"We have a proven solution to the packaging conundrum faced by all consumer brands, and together, we can take sustainable packaging to a whole new level," Wee said.

Vickers' founder and chairman Finian Tan said the firm is committed to supporting organisations such as RWDC, which contribute towards creating a positive social impact on our environment.

"We believe RWDC's edge-cutting technology provides a solution to plastic waste, marking a critical step in building a waste-free future for plastics and packaging," Tan said.