Tethis is a step closer to commercialising a product that it says could revolutionise the diaper market by making it greener and reducing plastic waste that ends up in landfills. The Raleigh-based green materials start-up has announced a Series C investment of US$ 17.6 million led by the Blue Hill Group (BHG). The financing will enable Tethis to scale commercial production for products manufactured out of starches and other renewable feedstocks.

Its first product being brought to market is Tethex, which aims to provide a bio-based, biodegradable alternative to the US$ 8 billion global superabsorbent polymer market for diapers that has been dominated by petrochemicals made from sodium polyacrylate.

“We are excited about the potential of the Tethis products,” said Steve Lerner, one of the BHG managing partners. “Scott and the team have developed a transformative technology that will fundamentally change the diaper industry by moving it into a more sustainable space less dependent on oil. We're proud to be a part of this significant phase.”

“This round of funding is an important milestone,” said co-founder and CEO Scott Bolin. “It's a testament to the hard work our team has put together to validate our technology and prepare it for commercial scale. We're excited to join with our investors and partners on our mission to provide bio-based solutions to major problems like enabling sustainable diapers for everyone.”

In addition to the funding, the new investors from Blue Hill Group bring a broad experience in entrepreneurship, investment, and executive leadership at the global scale. “We're tremendously pleased to have added such a wealth of commercial and industrial experience to our team,” said Tethis' chairman Chris Evans. In addition to serial entrepreneur and investor Steve Lerner, Blue Hill Group managing partners include Liggett CEO Ron Bernstein, and banking executive Jonathan Hornaday.

Blue Hill is joined by existing Tethis investors from previous rounds and by new investments from members of local university angel organizations, The Wolfpack Investor Network (WIN) from NC State and Carolina Angel Network (CAN) from UNC-Chapel Hill. This is the largest funding round for either group to date.

www.tethis.com