Conventional protective textiles, such as fire retardants and UV shielding materials, often contain toxic substances like Zinc Oxide and halogenated compounds. In addition to having significant environmental footprints, these harmful compounds can leach into the skin during use. Many eco-friendly alternatives have risen, but they struggle to match conventional materials’ performance and durability, making them hard to adopt.
Soarce, a textile material technology startup, uses sustainable materials derived from seaweed. This offers enhanced performance and resilience without any toxic side effects. We spoke to Derek G. Saltzman, co-founder and CEO of Soarce, to better understand their products and techniques.
This interview is part of GreyB’s Scouted series. In this series, we spotlight innovative startups and speak to their founders about how their solutions can revolutionize the industry by solving problems. You can find all those interviews here in text and video format.
Author’s Note: Here’s a report on some notable Seaweed Research Trends to Watch in 2024 and beyond.
The market has stagnated for too long because not enough innovators have explored sustainable materials; we aim to change that with our seaweed-based solutions.
– Derek G. Saltzman
Derek G. Saltzman is the CEO of Soarce. He leads a team that solves climate challenges through renewable and high-performing materials. Derek’s professional background includes extensive experience in material science and innovation. Before founding Soarce, he and his team developed customized carbon fiber composites for racing drones. This experience laid the foundation for Soarce’s current focus on bio-based nanomaterials.
Overview: Creating sustainable protective nanomaterials from seaweed.
Soarce is an innovative materials technology company that extracts biopolymers from seaweed to create high-performance materials with properties like UV protection, non-fading brightness, and fire resistance. Using seaweed as a raw material, the company focuses on sustainability and offers advantages over traditional materials used in the textile industry. Soarce’s proprietary chemistry and nanotechnology processes allow them to develop unique additives and solutions for various fashion, textiles, and applications.
Here’s the full conversation.
Here are the highlights from the full interview-
What is Soarce’s core technology and product offering?
Our core technology involves extracting specific biopolymers from seaweed and functionalizing them with our unique non-toxic chemistries. The resulting nanomaterials possess increased UV protection, fire resistance, and reduced water consumption during textile dyeing.
We offer these materials as additives and solutions to clients in the fashion and textile industries. For example, we’ve developed a biopolymer that can replace traditional acrylic binders as a paint binder. Our ceramic material combines seaweed and inorganic ceramics for optical brighteners, viscosity modifiers, and a binding agent for natural pigmentation.
How does Soarce’s product compare to traditional alternatives regarding cost and performance?
While our products may have a slightly higher upfront cost than traditional alternatives, we save companies money in other areas. We reduce energy use, water treatment costs, and labor expenses. Many of our clients use a value-based pricing model, where they consider the long-term savings and benefits.
Performance-wise, we often match or exceed traditional products. For instance, we’ve developed a non-yellowing white that doesn’t use titanium dioxide or zinc oxide—a major advantage for companies that have lost product due to yellowing during shipping. Our fire-resistant materials also outperform many current options while being more environmentally friendly.
What are Soarce’s expansion plans?
Our next major step is moving to a pilot-scale facility. We’ve proven our technology at the lab scale, producing a couple of kilograms at a time. We’re looking to raise capital to build a pilot facility capable of producing around 100 kilograms per month. This will allow us to consistently supply our current clients and iron out any production issues.
Once we’ve optimized the pilot facility, we aim to scale up to a full commercial facility, producing monthly tonnage. We focus on scalability and integration with our clients’ processes rather than developing entirely new technologies.
How does Soarce approach sustainability in its products and processes?
Sustainability is at the core of our work. We use seaweed as our primary raw material, which is abundant and often considered a waste product. Our extraction and functionalization processes use green chemistry principles and non-toxic solvents.
What is Soarce’s stance on patents and intellectual property protection?
We take a layered approach to IP protection. We have patents filed on the composition of our chemistry, the manufacturing methods, and the applications of our materials. However, we also believe that patents are just one part of the equation. We focus on scaling the business, commercializing our products quickly, and providing excellent customer service.
Our philosophy is that a good offense is the best defense. We can stay ahead of competitors by moving fast, staying lean, and building strong client relationships. That said, we see our IP as a valuable asset, potentially making us an attractive acquisition target for larger companies.
Many of our products help companies reduce their environmental impact. For example, our fire-resistant materials don’t use the harmful halogenated or brominated compounds that are being phased out in many regions. We also help reduce water and energy consumption in textile manufacturing processes.
Many of our clients’ major selling points revolve around our products’ sustainability. This allows them to tell a compelling story about using materials sourced from the ocean and valorizing waste biomass. However, we always lead with performance—the sustainability benefits are a bonus to our materials’ superior functionality.
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Meet our Interviewer – Vikas Jha, AVP, Solutions at GreyB
Vikas Jha is an experienced tech consultant focused on intellectual property consulting. With expertise in diverse domains like Telecom, Navigation, and Medical Devices, he helps clients navigate innovation challenges. His ability to bridge technology, innovation, and leadership makes him a valuable resource in the evolving tech landscape. Vikas has been featured on CNBC for his insights on next-gen technologies like space tech.
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Authored By: Hemanth Shenoy, Market Research
