Key Takeaways
- Delft-based Foamlab B.V. raised €3 million in growth capital to fund a pilot plant, scale production, and accelerate commercial rollout of its bacterial nanocellulose foams
- The round was led by ICOS Capital, with co-investors Value Factory Ventures, DOEN Ventures, Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund, and TTT Green Tech (managed by SHIFT Invest)
- Foamlab’s bio-based foams target 4 industries: construction, furniture, fashion, and packaging, aiming to replace polystyrene, which takes over 500 years to decompose and sees only 30% of global production recycled
- Founded in 2024 as a TU Delft spin-off, Foamlab previously closed a ~€500,000 seed round and is now targeting a pilot plant capable of producing 100,000 sq. metres of material annually
Quick Recap
Foamlab B.V., a spin-off from the Delft University of Technology, has raised €3 million in growth funding to build a pilot plant and scale its bacterial nanocellulose foam, a fully compostable, bio-based alternative to conventional oil-derived plastics. The round, led by ICOS Capital with four co-investors, was officially announced via EU Startups and confirmed by Capricorn Partners, one of the participating funds. CEO Jeroen van Rotterdam confirmed the raise, citing growing multi-industry demand for the material.
Foamlab scales foam from lab to pilot
Foamlab’s core innovation is rooted in bacterial nanocellulose, a material grown through fermentation by microorganisms that consume glucose and produce a natural polymer. Inside self-built 70-litre bioreactors at Biotech Campus Delft, bacteria generate a SCOBY (the cellulose structure), which is then dried and processed into a spectrum of foam variants ranging from soft textiles to rigid insulation panels.
By adjusting variables like temperature, acidity, nutrient composition, or even UV-mutated bacterial strains, Foamlab can tune the foam’s density, flexibility, and insulation performance to client specifications. The material outperforms polystyrene on three fronts: it is lighter, stronger, and better insulating, while being compostable at room temperature under natural conditions, not requiring industrial composting infrastructure that many bioplastics depend on.
The €3 million will fund a pilot factory targeting output of 100,000 sq. metres per year, with a long-term ambition to reach 50 million sq. metres annually within approximately eight years. Co-founder and Scientific Advisor Professor Elvin Karana of TU Delft’s Industrial Design Engineering faculty emphasizes: “The new product is extremely lightweight and the mechanical performance is very similar to existing foams.”
Timing Matters: Regulation, Demand, and Bio-Materials
The funding lands as Europe’s regulatory environment is rapidly tightening around single-use plastics, with the EU plastics strategy pushing industry to find credible alternatives beyond just recyclable polymers. Foamlab’s CEO has flagged an ironic regulatory gap: current packaging rules in some jurisdictions still favour recyclable conventional plastics like polypropylene over compostable bio-alternatives, creating a policy lag the startup must navigate alongside commercial scale-up.
That said, momentum is clear, with the European Investment Bank lending €20 million to Sweden’s PulPac for fiber-based plastic alternatives in 2025 under the InvestEU programme, signalling institutional confidence in this category. Demand is already materialising in construction (where polystyrene insulation is ubiquitous) and fashion (where compostable, high-performance textile alternatives are in strong demand).
Peter van Gelderen, Managing Partner at ICOS Capital, noted: “Their robust production technology for bacterial nanocellulose foam provides sustainable alternatives for fossil-based materials, for construction insulation, high-end packaging, and fashion, thus addressing a major materials transition with a scalable and sustainable solution.”
Competitive Landscape
Foamlab vs. Nearest Rivals
Foamlab’s most relevant comparable-stage European competitor is Cellugy (Denmark), which also uses bacteria to produce cellulose-based biomaterials to replace petrochemicals, having raised a €4.9 million seed in 2024 and a subsequent €8.1 million EU LIFE grant in 2025. The other notable player is Ecovative (USA), the global mycelium technology leader, which has raised over $145 million and uses AirMycelium technology to produce foams, packaging, and textiles, operating at a far larger scale.
| Feature / Metric | Foamlab | Cellugy | Ecovative |
| Core Technology | Bacterial nanocellulose foam grown via fermentation | Biofabricated dry cellulose (EcoFLEXY) from bacterial fermentation | Mycelium (mushroom root) grown on agricultural waste |
| Founded | 2024, Delft, Netherlands | 2018, Denmark | 2007, New York, USA |
| Total Funding | ~€3.5M (seed + current round) | ~€14M+ equity + €8.1M EU grant | $145M+ total |
| Primary Target Sectors | Construction, packaging, fashion, furniture | Personal care, cosmetics, packaging | Fashion, food, packaging, textiles |
| Compostability | Room temperature, natural environments | Fully biodegradable, bio-based | Biodegradable, home compostable |
| Production Stage | Lab phase; pilot plant planned | Pilot to industrial ton-scale | Commercial scale, global supply |
| Investor Profile | ICOS Capital, DOEN Ventures, Capricorn | ICIG Ventures, EU LIFE Programme | Viking Global, Standard Investments |
Foamlab leads in versatility for hard material foam applications like construction insulation, where Cellugy has not directly focused, while Ecovative remains the dominant force by sheer scale and product breadth. Cellugy is the closer European rival in fermentation-based bio-material development, though it is targeting cosmetics and personal care rather than structural foams.
TechnoTrenz’s Takeaway
I will be straightforward: this is one of those funding rounds that looks small on paper but punches well above its weight in strategic importance. €3 million is not a unicorn cheque, but for a 2024-vintage deep-tech spin-off still operating out of self-built bioreactors, this is exactly the kind of capital that gets you from a petri dish to a factory floor, and that step is often the hardest one in the whole biomaterials journey.
In my view, what makes Foamlab genuinely compelling is not just the sustainability angle, it is the performance argument. I have seen dozens of “eco-friendly” material startups lean entirely on guilt-marketing. Foamlab does not do that. Their pitch is that the material is simply better: lighter, stronger, more insulating, tunable to order. That is a commercial argument, not an environmental one, and commercial arguments survive regulatory tailwinds and headwinds alike.
I think the investor mix here is a strong signal. DOEN Ventures is a mission-driven impact fund, Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund is a hard-science backer, and SHIFT Invest’s TTT Green Tech brings green infrastructure expertise. This is not a “feel-good” syndicate chasing ESG optics; these are investors who understand industrial biotech cycles. That matters because the road from pilot to full scale in biomaterials is long and capital-intensive.
