The Loop Factory, one of our incubator companies, has recently been granted exclusive support from the EIC Accelerator programme. This means that the company can increase the pace of commercialization of Yangi®, a sustainable packaging technology that may, in the long run, make us less dependent on plastic. Another positive consequence is that they can expand their operations in the region of Halland, so that more jobs can be created.
The Loop Factory is the innovative company from Varberg, aiming at a fundamental change and accelerated innovation processes in the circular economy. In addition to being a key partner in the development and realization of sustainable solutions, materials and green innovations, they also work on their own projects. One of them is Yangi® – a pioneering and innovative packaging technology based on the dry moulding of cellulose, which has the potential to reduce our dependence on plastic.
One of the few selected companies in Sweden
The Loop Factory is now increasing the commercialization pace for Yangi® thanks to special funding from Horizon 2020’s EIC Accelerator programme. The EIC Accelerator provides risk financing for innovations to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe. The Loop Factory, as one of only a few selected Swedish companies, can now continue the development of Yangi®.
The Loop Factory has long experience of working with fibre-based solutions in the field of packaging. Yangi® is a pioneering and innovative technology for the resource-efficient production of renewable packaging from cellulose. Today, the technology is mainly used as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to disposable plastic food packaging and containers for product samples. However, the potential is greater and the prospects are many for the technology, which is based on circular materials from the Swedish forest.
Two million euros of funding
The two-million-euro funding will help scale up the technology on a global level together with industrial partners. It also means that The Loop Factory can take the next step in the initiative for more sustainable innovations and materials, which in practice creates new jobs. The company also aims at putting Halland on the map as a greentech region, with more investments landing in the region.
“Being selected by EIC has given us an even stronger belief in the future. Despite the pandemic, we’ve been able to recruit staff and attract experts. We want to keep growing, and we need for Halland to attract specialists,” says Mia Nylin, HR Manager at The Loop Factory.
Minimum environmental impact
The goal is to replace plastic on a large scale, and the Yangi technology makes it possible to reduce the climate impact by way of a new material. Also, the production method is less hard on the environment. Compared with plastic, the environmental impact is minimal: the carbon footprint is reduced by as much as up to 90%. In addition, the production uses no water at all.
Yangi® has already received attention, most recently from the world-leading environmental organization Ellen MacArthur foundation, as a key function for circular economy and reduced plastic impact.
“Yangi is not only a breakthrough innovation – it’s the result of more than ten years of research and development. The funding from EIC’s Accelerator programme will be an important success factor in our continued development of the foundation and infrastructure for international commercialization,” says Anna Altner, CEO and founder of The Loop Factory.
The EIC Accelerator is an EU programme providing financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises for the development and upscaling of innovative innovations in a global market. Only the most innovative companies are selected. In the latest call, more than 4,200 startups applied for funding, and The Loop Factory was one of 38 companies that were granted funding. Read more here.
