About Us

Our vision is to create a greener future with sustainable particle technology.

Who We Are

Naturbeads began with a spark of curiosity at the University of Bath. Professors Janet Scott and Davide Mattia were exploring sustainable materials when they stumbled upon a way to turn cellulose — the most abundant natural polymer on Earth — into perfectly round, biodegradable microspheres. What started as a lab experiment quickly drew real-world attention: after sending a few grams of their first sample to a major cosmetics company, the reply came back almost instantly — “Thanks… now can we have a kilogram?”

Recognising the potential to replace billions of microplastics polluting our planet, Janet, Davide, and Giovanna Laudisio founded Naturbeads in 2018 as a spin-out from the University of Bath. With early support from the University’s Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies (CSCT) and our first investment in 2019, we’ve since grown from lab discovery to building our first production plant — scaling a simple but powerful idea: replacing microplastics with nature.

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Key Milestones

Before 2018

Research into the cellulose-based technology for replacing microplastics began at the University of Bath, supported by the CSCT.

2018

Naturbeads was incorporated as a spin-out company from the University of Bath.

2019

Secured funding from Innovate UK and Sky Ocean Ventures.

2022

Raised £1.3 million in funding to move from pilot to demo-scale production.

2024

Secured a major Series A funding round of £7.8 million to construct our first production plant.

2025

Operating our first commercial plant.

Our Vision

To create a greener future with sustainable particle technology.

Our Mission

At Naturbeads, our mission is to make sustainability effortless by developing innovative, cost-competitive technologies that replace harmful microplastics with natural, biodegradable alternatives.

Our Commitment

At Naturbeads, we believe in a future where nature, not plastic, shapes the materials we use every day. We’re a passionate, purpose-driven team working to replace harmful ingredients with sustainable, circular, and biodegradable solutions that perform just as well with the same cost of plastics without costing the Earth. Guided by innovation, integrity, and collaboration, we’re building this future together with our partners, for the planet and for generations to come.

Past projects – Exploitation phase

Cellulozyme Project

Naturbeads worked together with industrial partner Chiral Vision (Netherlands) to develop and test a platform of prototype carriers for enzyme immobilization. Our carriers can successfully immobilize lipase, glucose amylase, urease, oxo-reductase, protease, glucose oxidase.

The collaboration between Naturbeads and Chiral Vision continues with the ambition to scale up our first prototype for home dialysis applications together with Next Kidney. We applied for an EIC grant to support the scale up and testing at pilot scale. Results expected Dec 2025

Edible microcarriers for the cultured meat industry

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Naturbeads worked together with industrial partner Cellular Agriculture (UK) to develop and test a platform of prototype carriers for cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation. Our carriers have been tested successfully with: C2C12 cells (mouse myoblasts), pork fat cells, fish stem cells, and bovine satellite cells. This project is now in exploitation phase as we continue to sample companies interested in testing our carriers.

To request a sample, click here.

Collaboration with Vaxhub

Current projects

Naturbeads is working together with UCL and the German AI start-up Vitafluence to develop novel thermally stable vaccine formulations based on the cellulose microspheres. Thermally stable vaccine formulations decrease vaccine wastage and improve vaccine accessibility in areas of the world where it's difficult to ensure cold chain transportation.  The antigens used over the course of the project are ovalbumin, a model protein, and hemagglutinin, a well conserved protein in Influenza virus strains. Vitafluence offers an AI platform that could help model the interactions between the microspheres and novel antigens, potentially leading to a more rapid development of future vaccines.

Grant

Innovation & Scale-Up Support (Innovate UK)

4 Innovate UK grants totaling approximately £1.7 million, supporting the construction of two pilot plants and the expansion of applications from personal care and cosmetics to paints, coatings, and life science.

Government Research Projects (UK Contracts & Eureka)

2 UK government contracts worth £200K, funding research to test cellulose beads in biocatalysis, and a follow-up Eureka Project (£250K) advancing the technology to TRL 6.

Regional & Biomedical Research Grants (WECA & VaxHub)

1 WECA (West of England Combined Authority) and 1 VaxHub grant totaling £120K, supporting testing of Naturbeads microspheres as carriers in biomedical applications.

Infrastructure & Scale-Up Support (European Structural Funding)

€4.1m in EU funding supporting the development and scaling of production infrastructure, enabling the transition from pilot-scale manufacturing to larger-scale operations and accelerating the commercialisation of cellulose-based microspheres across multiple applications.

Sustainable Alternative to Plastic Microspheres Produced with Naturbeads Technology

European Structural Funding Project

CUP: B25H24001040007

Con il presente Progetto Naturbeads Italia si propone di completare lo scale up da TRL5 a TRL7 della tecnologia messa a punto per la produzione di microsfere di cellulosa. Questa tecnologia permette un preciso controllo di forma, dimensioni e distribuzione delle particelle, caratteristiche fondamentali per offrire ai formulatori di prodotti come cosmetici e vernici un prodotto che può facilmente sostituire le microsfere di plastica senza modificare le caratteristiche del prodotto finale.

Naturbeads intende, quindi, proporre le microsfere di cellulosa come alternativa sostenibile alle microsfere di plastica che sono attualmente l'oggetto della nuova legislazione Europea 2023/2055 del 25 Settembre 2023.

Il Progetto prevede la costruzione del primo impianto produttivo su scala pre-industriale con produzione annuale di 10 tonnellate. Il progetto ha due obiettivi principali:

produrre microsfere di cellulosa in quantità sufficienti per permettere ai produttori di cosmetici di inserire il nuovo ingrediente nei prodotti al consumatore e testare il mercato per capire la reazione dei consumatori;
testare la produzione delle microsfere di cellulosa in continuo con il riciclo dei solventi e controllo di forma, dimensioni e distribuzione delle particelle a livello pre-industriale.

Parallelamente, Naturbeads Italia ha previsto un Progetto di R&S finalizzato a: ottimizzare le materie prime utilizzate nel processo, progettare e ottimizzare il suo impianto dimostrativo, digitalizzare l’impianto per un suo controllo da remoto, sviluppare nuove linee di prodotto per applicazioni sperimentali.

Inoltre, il Progetto prevede la partecipazione a fiere di settore e la realizzazione di un impianto fotovoltaico utile a ridurre il fabbisogno energetico dell’impianto dimostrativo.

Denominazione del Beneficiario:

Naturbeads Italia Srl

Finalità dell'intervento:

Realizzazione nuovo impianto di produzione, Ricerca e Sviluppo, Tutela Ambientale, Promozione all’estero

Titolo del Bando:

Avviso Programmi Integrati di Agevolazione della Regione Puglia

Progetto finanziato con il sostegno dei fondi europei (FESR) e/o regionali

Importo complessivo dell’Investimento: € 6.544.371,19

Importo complessivo del Finanziamento: € 4.133.368,40

CUP: B25H24001040007

With this Project, Naturbeads Italia wants to complete the scale-up from TRL5 to TRL7 of the cellulose microspheres production technology. This technology enables precise control of shape, size, and particle distribution, key characteristics for offering formulators of products such as cosmetics and paints a product that can easily replace plastic microspheres without modifying the final product’s characteristics.

Naturbeads therefore intends to propose cellulose microspheres as a sustainable alternative to plastic microspheres, which are currently the subject of new European legislation 2023/2055 of 25 September 2023.

The Project includes the first pre-industrial scale production facility construction with an annual output of 10 tonnes. The project has two main objectives:

producing cellulose microspheres in quantities sufficient to allow cosmetic manufacturers to incorporate the new ingredient into consumer products and test the market to gauge consumer response;
testing continuous production of cellulose microspheres with solvent recycling and control of shape, size, and particle distribution at pre-industrial scale.

In parallel, Naturbeads Italia has planned an R&D Project aimed at: optimising the raw materials used in the process, designing and optimising its demonstration plant, digitalising the plant for remote monitoring, and developing new product lines for experimental applications.

Furthermore, the Project includes participation in industry trade fairs and the installation of a photovoltaic system to reduce the energy requirements of the demonstration plant.

Beneficiary Name:

Naturbeads Italia Srl

Purpose of the Intervention:

Construction of a new production plant, Research and Development, Environmental Protection, International Promotion

Grant Call Title:

Notice for Integrated Incentive Programmes of the Apulia Region

Project co-financed with the support of European (ERDF) and/or regional funds

Total Investment Amount: € 6,544,371.19

Total Funding Amount: € 4,133,368.40