Sparxell’s EIC grant to speed up plant-based colourant use for fashion houses
Sparxell, the pioneering developer of the world’s first 100 per cent plant-based colourant, has secured a €1.9million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC).
Backed by the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton conglomerate – which includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Tiffany & Co and Loewe – the University of Cambridge spin-out will use the finance to scale up to tonne-level production. This is a significant step forward in Sparxell’s mission to transform the $48bn global colourants market with high-performance, biodegradable alternatives to synthetic dyes.
The grant is the latest validation of Sparxell’s momentum, following 25 funded pilots with global brands, its acceptance into LVMH’s La Maison des Startups accelerator, and strong commercial demand across the fashion, cosmetics, and packaging industries.
Sparxell’s proprietary technology transforms cellulose from readily available materials, including wood pulp and agricultural waste, into vibrant colour solutions that exceed the performance of synthetic dyes in colour intensity and durability, while being completely non-toxic and biodegradable.
In fashion, the technology significantly reduces energy and water consumption compared to conventional textile dyeing and printing. It also eliminates toxicity in human-contact applications such as cosmetics and food applications, while enabling large-scale recycling and circularity across industries, such as packaging and paint.
Last autumn, Sparxell expanded its Cambridge headquarters capacity, enabling kilogram-scale production to accelerate innovation and meet increasing market demand.
Sparxell is now planning further expansion of its facilities this year, aiming to double production capacity and establish production laboratories, positioning the company to capture a significant share of the colourants market.
The textile industry currently uses more than 10,000 fossil-based chemicals in colouration processes, releasing 1.5 million tonnes of toxic dyes into the environment annually, and contributing around 1 gigatonne to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Market momentum is further accelerated by tightening regulations. Recent FDA announcements to ban artificial food colour dyes due to health concerns, along with the EU microplastics ban, are creating significant market opportunities for Sparxell's non-toxic alternatives.
With the company approaching its first million in sales, the EIC grant will prime Sparxell for exponential growth in the booming colourants sector. The company is scaling to tonne-level production in 2025, in preparation for its first commercial launch with leading brands and manufacturers.
Since joining LVMH’s prestigious La Maison des Startups accelerator programme, Sparxell has quickly established itself in the luxury market, connecting with heritage brands of the luxury fashion conglomerate.
Dr Benjamin Droguet, founder and CEO of Sparxell, said: “This European Innovation Council funding is transformative for Sparxell, allowing us to accelerate our manufacturing scale-up and overcome key technical challenges much earlier in our development pathway.
“With our plant-based technology, we’re offering industries a fundamentally different approach to colour that works with nature rather than against it while meeting the highest performance standards.”
