After four years of research and development, a Vancouver company has come out of stealth mode to commercialize a natural bioplastic it says biodegrades within weeks of disposal.
Solegear Bioplastics Inc. is hoping to sell its bioplastic, dubbed polysole, to manufacturers in the automotive, electronics, pharmaceutical and consumer goods industries.
It has raised more than $300,000 to date and worked with the University of British Columbia and the National Research Council of Canada to develop polysole.
Patents for the product were filed last October.
As part of its commercialization drive, Solegear, which was founded in 2006, is raising $3 million to fund sales and marketing efforts and for larger-scale polysole production.
Based at UBC, the company’s executive team is made up of veterans of the plastics and chemical industries.