Planet Smart, a London based biomaterials startup, has raised £750k in pre-seed funding to launch its first product. The company is developing PlanetSorb, a naturally biodegradable superabsorbent polymer (SAP) designed to replace the fossil based plastics used inside nappies and sanitary products.
The round, led by General Inception and Vertical Venture Partners, with additional backing from Innovate UK and the Undaunted Accelerator, marks the company’s official launch after two years of intense scientific development. The funds will be used to scale R&D and the technical team at its White City laboratory, expand its technical team and begin commercial trials with global hygiene manufacturers.
PlanetSorb is the first SAP that biodegrades within six months without leaving microplastics behind. It also outperforms traditional materials, absorbing more than 1l of liquid per gram, which is up to twice as much liquid while remaining cost competitive. Because less material is needed to achieve the same result, manufacturers can create thinner, more comfortable products that perform better for consumers all while remaining cost competitive with fossil based alternatives.
Marin, a materials scientist from the Philippines, met his American cofounder Maurice Rüttimann when they were lockdown flatmates in Brussels during the pandemic. The idea for Planet Smart began after Marin volunteered for a river clean up in his home country and saw first hand the scale of waste caused by disposable nappies.
The pair began by running an NGO focused on plastic waste before turning to science to solve the root of the problem. Now based in London’s White City innovation hub, Planet Smart has built a team of polymer chemists and industry veterans from BASF and P&G Ventures.
The global hygiene sector responsible for an estimated half a million disposable nappies and pads discarded every minute is under growing regulatory pressure to find alternatives. The EU ban on intentionally added microplastics, introduced last year, and upcoming deforestation laws increasing the cost of wood pulp are driving major manufacturers to seek biodegradable solutions at scale. Planet Smart’s technology, made from poly amino acids that degrade naturally in soil or landfill, offers a timely and commercially viable answer.
The startup has already signed three letters of intent from leading hygiene manufacturers and two purchase orders with European brands. Third party testing of PlanetSorb at lab scale has confirmed that the material is non toxic, dermatologist approved and achieves industry leading absorbency and retention rates.
Beyond hygiene, the company’s biodegradable absorbents have potential uses in agriculture, wound care, food packaging and even mining waste management any industry that relies on materials designed to soak, trap or retain liquid.
With this round of funding, the team will have the ability to scale up and pilot trials from its current lab. With future funding rounds, the team Planet Smart aims to reach one kilotonne of production capacity, which is equivalent to around 45 million nappies’ worth of PlanetSorb, by the end of 2028. The company plans to fundraise further in 2026 to expand manufacturing and establish licensing partnerships with global brands.
