Female-founded bioeconomy start-up traceless partners with Mondi toscale natural, regenerative solutions in paper coating

traceless® material in the form of a granulate and paper coating © traceless

traceless materials, an innovator in sustainable material technologies, announces a strategic partnership with Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper. This collaboration aims to push the application of traceless®, a novel and natural plastic alternative, across the paper industry on a large scale.

Founded in 2020 by Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare, traceless has pioneered the development of a biocircular and certified plastic-free granulate from plant residues, aiming to replace plastics with a regenerative alternative. The partnership with Mondi, renowned for its sustainable business practices and global reach in the paper and packaging industry, represents a critical step forward in traceless materials’ mission to significantly reduce global plastic pollution.

Environmental Impact of Traditional Plastic Coatings and the traceless® Solution Traditional paper coating methods often involve the use of synthetic plastics to enhance sealing and barrier properties. These coatings, derived from non-renewable petroleum resources, are not biodegradable under industrial composting conditions.

In contrast, traceless® is bio-based on residues and naturally compostable, breaking down in a short timeframe without leaving any harmful residues. By introducing an alternative to conventional plastic coatings with traceless®, the partnership between traceless materials and Mondi is set to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and decrease the volume of unnecessary plastic waste generated, all while being recyclable in existing paper recycling streams. This shift meets increasing consumer and regulatory demands for environmentally friendly packaging solutions.

Anne Lamp, CEO and co-founder of traceless materials, states, “Our collaboration with Mondi is more than just a partnership; it’s a powerful combination of innovation and scale. Together, we are ready to transform the paper coating industry by implementing our traceless® material coating alternative on a scale that only a company like Mondi can achieve. This is a major step towards a sustainable future where our material becomes a standard in everyday products.”

Marko Schuster, COO Functional Paper and Films at Mondi, states, “This partnership aligns perfectly with Mondi’s commitment to making packaging and paper sustainable by design. Working with traceless® allows us to introduce innovative, natural solutions to our customers, further enhancing our approach to responsible production and consumption. Jointly we are taking the next step in developing solutions that contribute to a circular economy.”

About Mondi Group

Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, contributing to a better world by producing products that are sustainable by design. We employ 22,000 people in more than 30 countries and operate an integrated business with expertise spanning the entire value chain, enabling us to offer our customers a broad range of innovative solutions for consumer and industrial end- use applications. Sustainability is at the centre of our strategy, with our ambitious commitments to 2030 focused on circular driven solutions, created by empowered people, taking action on climate. In 2023, Mondi had revenues of €7.3 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.2 billion. Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), where the Group is a FTSE100 constituent, and also has a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP).

About traceless

The bioeconomy start-up traceless materials GmbH was founded in Hamburg in 2020 by Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare. With its natural biomaterial traceless®, the team wants to make a real contribution to solving global plastic pollution and, as a biomaterial pioneer, drive forward the green transformation of the materials sector. After closing a 36.6 Mio. EUR Series A financing round in 2023, the team has started building their first large-scale production plant in Hamburg in 2024 – a significant step on the way to technology industrialization.

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection is funding the project with an amount of 5,128,401 EUR from the Environmental Innovation Programme. For the development of product applications, traceless cooperates with European brand owners and manufacturers such as OTTO, Lufthansa and C&A. A first pilot product in the packaging sector has been successfully tested on the market since 2022. The company has also received numerous awards, including the German Entrepreneur Award and the German Sustainability Award/Next Economy Award.