Ponda wraps up $2.4 million to commercialise regenerative insulation BioPuff®

The investment will accelerate the scale-up of Ponda’s plant-based insulation technology and regenerative wetland farming model.

Ponda, the UK-based biomaterials company with roots at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, has closed a $2.4 million seed investment round to commercialise its flagship insulation, BioPuff®.

Made from Typha, a wetland crop, BioPuff is a first-of-its-kind insulation material that offers equivalent thermal properties to goose down while being significantly cheaper. Ponda has partnered with major global brands including Berghaus, Stella McCartney, Parley for the Oceans and Sheep Inc, providing material prototypes and co-developing garments that demonstrate Biopuff’s performance in real-world conditions.

Importantly for Ponda’s founders, cultivation of Typha regenerates peatlands and creates restored wetlands. Degraded peatlands are a major source of carbon, emitting 2 gigatonnes each year across the globe. By partnering with landowners to rewet these landscapes and grow fast-renewing Typha, Ponda creates benefits including flood mitigation, reduced carbon emissions and improved biodiversity.

Julian Ellis-Brown, CEO and Co-founder of Ponda, said: “Our team is passionate about creating a new materials supply chain that is inherently regenerative, and in which by selling products we can do better for the planet. Every jacket filled with BioPuff directly funds peatland restoration.”

Invented at Imperial

Ponda’s founders met while studying for the Innovation Design Engineering double Master’s programme run jointly between Imperial and the Royal College of Art.

Julian Ellis-Brown said: “The earliest stages of formalising the idea that became Ponda happened at Imperial, including through our participation in the Venture Catalyst Challenge in 2020. Our win in one of the tracks of that competition brought us the first funds that came into the company, so it was hugely important for us.”

Since that early success, Ponda has continued to be supported by Imperial, with mentorship through Imperial Venture Mentoring and Experts In Residence, pro bono legal support through the GreenTech Legal Collaborative and participating in a Venture Trek to New York that brought connections to other entrepreneurial alumni and a chance to link up with the fashion industry in the east coast of the US.

Next steps

Already at multi-tonne production scale, this investment round will enable Ponda to invest further in its product and continue working with partners to bring BioPuff to widespread adoption.

Its early collaborations have focused on outdoor and fashion garments like jackets and sleeping bags, aiming to offer a direct alternative to synthetic and animal-based insulation materials. But at its facility based in Bristol, UK, the company’s pilot-scale fibre processing, blending and prototyping capabilities allow it test and develop for other applications including soft toys, upholstery, bedding and other sectors in need of lightweight, durable, warm insulation.

And the company remains closely involved with Imperial, having joined the first cohort of EarthScale, a UK-wide programme led by the University that supports IP-rich climate tech startups by connecting them with a network of deep technical expertise through regional hubs and partnerships with UK universities.