Singapore's RWDC Industries secures $133m Series B

The round was led by Vickers Venture Partners, energy and resources-focused Flint Hills Resources, CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop, and a fund controlled by Interogo Holding. CPV/CAP is a pension fund established by Coop, Switzerland's largest retailer. Interogo is controlled by the Interogo Foundation, which also owns the parent company of Ikea. Additional contributions came from WI Harper Group and the pension fund of US-based Eversource Energy.

Founded in 2015 by Roland Wee and Daniel Carraway, RWDC wants to replace petroleum-derived materials with safe, sustainable alternatives. It concentrates on innovative and cost-effective biopolymer material solutions, including polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a substitute for plastic. PHA – recognized as the only commercially viable biodegradable bioplastic – can be used in a range of everyday, single-use consumer goods such as straws, utensils, cups, plates, and lids.

In 2018, RWDC's proposal to use PHA to start replacing single-use plastics won the inaugural Liveability Challenge, which is presented by the Temasek Foundation, a unit of the eponymous Singapore government-backed investment fund.

"This investment will help us significantly increase our production capacity so that we can meet needs of brand owners who want to improve the lives of their customers by offering materials that have a positive effect on human health, while improving environmental stewardship," said Carraway, in a statement.

Carraway and Wee are based in the US and Singapore, respectively. RWDC has locations in both countries. The increase in production capacity will come, in part, through the repurposing of an idled factory in Athens, Georgia originally constructed in the late 1960s.

RWDC's Series B comes shortly after Circulate Capital, a Singapore investor dedicated to ocean pollution management, made its first investments in two plastic recycling start-ups. Circulate backs waste management, recycling and circular economy start-ups focused on preventing plastic pollution and advancing the circular economy.

The firm reached a first close of $106 million on its debut fund last year, also with substantial corporate support. LPs include PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Dow, Danone, Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Industrials
• Cleantech
• Early-stage
• Singapore
• Vickers Venture Partners
• Temasek Holdings
• manufacturing