BacAlt Biosciences uses fermentation to convert agricultural waste into alternatives to synthetic polymers used in textiles, cosmetics, detergents, dental care products, fertilizers and pharmaceuticals. The Bengaluru-based and female co-founded startup raised 180 million rupees ($ 2.1 million) in a pre-seed round led by India’s Avaana Capital. Lubrizol InnoVentures, the corporate venture capital arm of Ohio-based chemical manufacturer Lubrizol, joined in.
“The demand for high-performance, cost-competitive ingredients is real, and we are building for scale, taking India from an import-dependent market to an export-ready bio-manufacturing hub,” said BacAlt’s Shruti Kutmutia.
BacAlt says its proprietary fermentation technique uses up to 50% less energy compared to other fermentation processes. The two-year old startup plans to upcycle up to 60 tons of post-harvest agricultural waste next year. The fresh funding will help BacAlt set up a production facility, scale its research and development processes, secure patents and inputs and solidify its product pipeline.
Waste to Value
Avaana’s other circularity-focused investments include Dharaksha Ecosolutions, which converts waste from grain harvesting into biodegradable packaging, GreenGrahi, which leverages insect-biotechnology for plant and animal feed production, and WasteLink, which produces poultry and cattle feed from wasted food.
The female-founded and -led investment firm clinched its $135 million climate and sustainability fund last year, with $24.5 million from the Green Climate Fund and additional funding from the UK-India Development Cooperation Fund, the Self-Reliant India Fund, the Small Industries Development Bank of India, the Azim Premji Trust, the US International Development Finance Corporation, among others.
The fund will cut checks of between 100 million to 300 million rupees ($1.2 million to $3.6 million) for up to 25 early-stage startups that provide solutions in climate and sustainable production systems such as clean energy, mobility, agriculture and biomanufacturing startups, among others.
