US bio-based colourant manufacturer Living Ink has successfully closed $3.5 million in financing, co-led by the US Department of Energy and strategic investors.
- These funds will continue the company's mission to revolutionise the ink and pigment industry with its patented, carbon-negative pigment solution, Algae Black.
- The successful fundraising round comes on the heels of Nike’s footwear launch with Billie Eilish colored by and co-branded with Living Ink biomaterial.
The details: Of the total $3.5 million secured in this financing round, $1.75 million was awarded through the U. Department of Energy’s (DOE) grant programmes. This includes grants from the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Carbon Dioxide Removal Program.
- The grants awarded by the DOE will be pivotal in catalysing development efforts, focusing on increasing yields, utilizing more diverse feedstocks, scaling up production, and reducing price points for the production of pigments and subsequent inks. The overarching goal is to scale carbon removal technology, thereby contributing to the global efforts to mitigate climate change.
- An additional $1.75 million was contributed by strategic investors, including Kayan Ventures and Fashion for Good.
The technology: Living Ink’s technology offers a drop-in replacement for traditional, petroleum-derived carbon black, a ubiquitous component found in various everyday items such as ink, paint, asphalt, cosmetics, plastics, and more.
- Carbon black is sourced from finite resources and emits substantial greenhouse gasses during production.
- Living Ink has developed a safe, renewable, and bio-based alternative in Algae Black.
- The patented black pigments and resulting ink formulations are made from algae biomass waste that would otherwise end up in landfill, thus offering a waste eliminating, carbon-negative product solution for both farms and brands across multiple industries.
- The growing product lines of Algae Black pigments and Algae Ink black ink formulations are already used in a wide variety of commercial colour applications including in packaging, apparel, footwear inks, fabric dyeing, plastics, paints, coatings, and rubbers.
- Living Ink has launched trims, packaging, or apparel products with Patagonia, Nike, Coach, New Balance, American Eagle and many other industrial-scale adopters.
What they said:
The enthusiasm about our product is off the charts and it’s all about scaling, lowering price point and partnering with great brands and production partners. These partnerships are allowing us to not only launch new products, but to start converting entire product lines with our bio-based product offerings.
— Scott Fulbright
CEO and Co-Founder
Living Ink
We're thrilled to join Scott, Stevan and the Living Ink team on their journey towards a more sustainable future and are excited by the variety of applications for their products as witnessed by their strong enterprise sales and partnerships. Several companies have attempted to develop ink fully derived from bio-based content, albeit, none have been able to do so completely, except for Living Ink.
— Yousef Nassar
Founder and General Partner
Kayan Ventures
