traceless announces production site in Hamburg

The founders Anne Lamp (left) and Johanna Baare (right) with previous owner Franziska Wedemann © traceless

traceless, a startup specialising in plastic alternatives, has announced the location for its first production plant. It will be located at Großmoorbogen in the Harburg district of Hamburg. Founders Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare and their team are taking over the existing building from the previous owner, the long-standing Wedemann bakery.

The start of production is planned for 2025

The building covers an area of around 4,000 square meters. An annual production volume of several thousand tons of traceless granulate is planned, with production set to start in 2025. For the first regular market entry, traceless has already concluded initial purchase agreements with European brand owners and processors. The plan is to expand the production team to around 90 people, which would create about forty new jobs for traceless. The construction of the plant is made possible by the financing round in September 2023 in the amount of 36.6 million euros and a good 5 million euros from a funding program of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

The traceless material is a natural plastic substitute that is obtained from plant waste from the agricultural industry. It is renewable, certified plastic-free, bio-based and home-compostable. According to the company, 91% of CO₂ emissions are saved in production and disposal compared to plastic thanks to a resource-saving process. traceless produces the material in the form of granulate, which can be further processed into cast parts, flexible films or coatings. The material can replace plastic in products that are difficult to recycle or often end up as waste in the environment – from disposable products and rigid and flexible packaging to paper and cardboard coatings.

Anne Lamp, co-founder and CEO of traceless

“This location is a real stroke of luck for us. We are delighted that we can now build our first large production facility here in Hamburg – this is where we founded traceless and took our first steps out of science. We are happy that the previous owner, Franziska Wedemann, agreed to sell the building to a young company like us. As pioneers, we want to provide fresh impetus for a green, bio-based industry here locally and hope to attract many more companies.” – Anne Lamp, co-founder and CEO of traceless.