15 November 2021

Matter secures £150k from British Design Fund to scale microplastic technology

British Design Fund backs the Bristol-based technology start-up as it expands its microplastic capture solutions.

£150K

Bristol-based Matter develops technology designed to capture, harvest and recycle microplastics.

Matter has secured £150k in funding from British Design Fund to scale its microplastic capture and recycling technology. Founded in 2017 by former Dyson engineer Adam Root, the start-up develops filtration systems for domestic appliances as well as commercial and industrial applications.

The company emerged after Root used an initial grant to dismantle a washing machine and prove his filtration concept. Matter is also collaborating with academic researchers to explore closed-loop recycling methods, turning captured microfibres into sustainable packaging.

British Design Fund has tracked the company for two years before backing the business. The new capital will support the firm as it expands its operations and broadens its technology reach.

From the founder

"When I decided to try and come up with a way to tackle the microplastic problem, I didn’t have a lot of money. I’d left my job and we were living with my wife’s parents."

Adam Root

Founder at Matter

Investor perspective

"We had been following Adam and his team’s growth over the past two years and were very impressed by the progress and impact being made by them in such an important sector. They are a great example of the type of purpose-led, product-driven start-ups the fund is keen to support and we look forward to seeing what they achieve moving forward."