The traceless mission: Materials with a positive impact. The model: Nature.

Dear Anne, it’s great that you took the time to talk to us. Would you tell us what is revolutionary about traceless and how it can be used?

Anne: We at traceless have developed a material that has similar properties to plastic, but is made of purely natural substances. If traceless ends up in the environment, it is easily biodegradable like natural materials and thus helps solve global plastic pollution. Because we use renewable resources in an efficient process, our material is far more climate-friendly than plastic. We also rely on the high scalability of our technology.

Our base material can then be further processed by the plastics industry into films, coatings, solid materials or adhesives, thus replacing plastic in many different products. Especially for products that have a short useful life or where recycling is difficult, traceless is a truly sustainable alternative. These can be disposable packaging in the food or non-food sector, single-use articles, products with high abrasion, as well as “hidden plastics” in adhesives and coatings. The applications are quite diverse.

What tips do you have for founders in Hamburg? And what services from the startup ecosystem have supported you?

Anne: Have the courage and look for comrades-in-arms! Of course, the path is not always easy, but if you have a great idea and can convince others of it, it’s worth it. We have also had good experiences with founding in a team, so that we can get different perspectives. Of course, the network is also essential: especially in the technology sector, a startup is a big step that involves a lot of work, risk and resources.

From the beginning, we had broad and active support in the local Hamburg startup ecosystem – from institutions like Startup Dock and beyourpilot, from funding programmes like Calls for Transfer and IFB InnoRampUp, but also from Hamburg University of Technology, where our research roots lie. Of course, an important part of the Hamburg network for us was also the contacts to committed local first-time customers like OTTO, and to investment partners like Planet A. The fact that traceless 2021 was ranked first among the TOP50 Startups 2021 shows what is possible with combined forces.

How would you describe the team behind traceless? What makes you stand out?

Anne: In three words: motivated, ambitious and interdisciplinary. Our team is made up of people of conviction. We really want to make a difference and contribute to a more sustainable future. We are currently 22 committed employees from the fields of process engineering, environmental sciences, chemistry, economics and finance, design and marketing. What unites us is our pioneering spirit: Working with natural polymers – “nature’s plastics” in a way – is still in its infancy, and our team is doing pioneering work in many respects. This tension between huge market demand and great challenge is what drives us and makes working on traceless exciting every day.

What is your vision and what are your plans for the future with traceless?

Anne: Our vision is a world in which materials have a positive impact on the environment, and pollution and waste are a thing of the past. This vision ties in with the cradle-to-cradle principle: instead of just reducing our negative footprint, we want to leave a positive one. Our role model is the oldest circular economy in the world: nature.

Just like all natural materials, traceless can integrate into the biological cycle and leaves no harmful traces there. With traceless, we want to contribute to our vision, and in the long term replace plastic wherever it can end up in the environment, where it is important that the material degrades. To get there, we need to scale up our technology as quickly as possible and expand our production capacities. We are working on this every day.

Thank you very much for talking to Startup City Hamburg. We wish you continued success and plenty of positive impact.