Executive Summary

Johanna Baare is the founder of Traceless Materials, a startup that produces compostable materials to replace plastic. She was recently awarded the German Startup Award for "Female Newcomer of the Year 2022." Congratulations, Johanna! The award is presented by the German Startup Association. Baare's company is just one of many startups fighting plastic pollution. It's estimated that 40% of today's plastic waste ends up in the environment. This has devastating consequences for wildlife and ecosystems. Traceless Materials' products will decompose in nature in two to ten weeks, without leaving any trace. Baare is one of many female entrepreneurs leading the charge against plastic pollution. We need more innovators like her to create a cleaner, greener future for us all.

German Startup Awards 2022

This interview is in media partnership with the German startup association. Their German Startup Awards #GSA22 honor each year outstanding female and male founders and investors in special categories.

You can also have a look at our history, we also interviewed many winners of the German Startup Awards 2021 already.

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The Founder

Johanna Baare is the COO and co-founder of Traceless Materials, an innovative Hamburg-based startup company that specializes in sustainable and eco-friendly materials. She has a background in psychology, which comes in handy for her current role in hr and team building. She also holds an MBA from IE Business School. Before Traceless Materials, she was the COO of a Malmö-based startup where she gained valuable experience in the SaaS industry. Her experience in consulting and management has been invaluable in her current role. Under her leadership, Traceless Materials has become one of the leading companies in its field.

The Startup

Founded in 2020 by two female entrepreneurs, Traceless is a startup that produces biomaterials to replace plastic. Johanna met her co-founder Anne at ProjectTogether in Berlin, which matches co-founders. The material is compostable, meaning it breaks down into natural substances in two to ten weeks without leaving any trace of microplastic. The company's mission is to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste. In addition to being compostable, the biomaterial is also recyclable and biodegradable. Traceless is currently working on developing a variety of applications for their biomaterial, including packaging, food service items, and medical supplies. The company has already received funding from several venture capital firms and the European Union. With its innovative biomaterial and commitment to sustainability, Traceless is poised to make a significant impact in the fight against plastic pollution.

The team is looking to build a first industrial-scale plant approximately the size of one hectare (107,000 square feet). The next step would be to produce at an industrial scale where the team is looking right now to match the price of non-recycled, aka virgin plastic. The big advantage of their material is that traditional plastic producers can use their granulate in existing machines. This will significantly lower the costs for companies who want to produce sustainable plastic and could eventually lead to replacing a large percentage of traditional plastic with this new sustainable option.

Venture Capital Funding

Traceless has raised 2,8 M US$ in funding, from 4 investors, including the European Innovation Council and HTGF (link interview CEO). Of these are 2,4 mn Euros from the EU. Right now Traceless is looking for investors to build a small scale industrial