A pioneering enterprise is pushing forward development of sustainable replacements for conventional oil-derived plastics.

Natural Negative, based in Brighton, has secured £100,000 in grant funding from Innovate UK to progress its investigation into advanced bio-based plastics.

This financial backing will allow the business to develop commercially viable, eco-conscious materials that can be incorporated into existing production lines without requiring substantial operational adjustments.

Company co-founder Dr Phoebe Heseltine explained that the main barrier preventing bio-based plastics from achieving widespread use is no longer the material itself, but rather the production infrastructure needed to manufacture it at scale.

She noted that the sector has invested significant resources into creating theoretically ideal alternatives, yet manufacturers actually require materials that perform reliably in actual production environments without introducing extra complications or halting operations.

The organisation seeks to bridge the gap between promising plant-derived materials and their successful deployment in industrial contexts.

Plastic production has been optimised over many decades specifically for petroleum-derived inputs, which means many environmentally friendly substitutes encounter considerable difficulties when moving from laboratory development to full industrial production.

The company’s approach involves designing materials specifically engineered to function within established production frameworks, thereby reducing costs tied to equipment alterations and minimising disruptions to operations.

Dr Heseltine indicated that their development methodology takes real-world manufacturing constraints into account. Rather than producing a material and then trying to retrofit it into current systems, they first establish what manufacturers actually need and subsequently formulate products designed to fulfill those requirements.

The Innovate UK grant will support Natural Negative in refining its material formulations and manufacturing techniques, with the aim of speeding up material development, enhancing uniformity, and reaching cost-effectiveness across various industries.