World's First Industrial Plant for Nature-Based Plastic Alternative Opens
Began as a start-up at TU Hamburg: The large-scale production facility of the Hamburg company traceless was ceremoniously inaugurated in front of high-ranking guests
14.05.2026
The bioeconomy scale-up traceless has inaugurated its first large-scale production plant in Hamburg-Harburg. These are the world's first industrial production capacities for a new generation natural polymer technology. In the plant, plant-based residues from the agricultural industry are processed into an innovative material that can be used as a natural plastic substitute. With the opening of the demonstration plant, the company achieves an important milestone in scaling its material technology. Traceless has its start-up roots at TU Hamburg (TUHH).
Dr.-Ing. Anne Lamp, CEO and founder of traceless: "With this plant, our mission enters a new phase. We are breaking new ground here: We are creating the world's first industrial production capacities for thermoplastic natural polymers that can be used directly as plastic substitutes. Together with our partners, we celebrate today the start of an innovative material industry that is circular, clean, and future-oriented."
Among those who gave greetings at the ceremonial opening in Harburg were Carsten Schneider, Federal Minister for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and Katharina Fegebank, Senator for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture. They congratulated the company and emphasized the strategic importance for sustainability, industrial competitiveness, and independence from fossil resources.
The Idea for traceless originated at TU Hamburg
Traceless’s production process is based on renewable raw materials, is resource-efficient, and enables local supply chains. The goal is to combat global plastic pollution, end dependence on fossil resources, and build a circular bioeconomy in Europe.
This sustainable approach perfectly fits TU Hamburg, from which traceless emerged as a start-up in 2020. To this day, the company is a partner in the CampusLab Circular Economy at the university. TUHH President Prof. Andreas Timm-Giel: “What traceless has achieved here is extraordinary: With the opening of its first large-scale production plant, the bioeconomy scale-up shows how sustainable material innovation can succeed at an industrial scale. For TU Hamburg, this is an outstanding example of ‘Engineering to Face Climate Change’: Concrete solutions arise from engineering research that combine industrial value creation, resource conservation, and climate protection. That a company founded by TUHH alumni pursues this path so successfully and remains closely linked to their alma mater makes us very proud. We warmly congratulate the founders and the entire traceless team on this impressive milestone.”
In the past ten years alone, around 60 companies have emerged from TUHH and are now active in the Hamburg metropolitan region and far beyond. Facilities such as the Startup Port @TUHH and Tutech Innovation GmbH have created infrastructure to best support founders at TUHH.
Dr.-Ing. Anne Lamp, founder and CEO of traceless: “Everything started at TUHH; here, the first ideas for our innovative process were developed. The decision to transfer this technology from research to commercial practice was a big step for me at the time. Today I am glad I had the courage because only then can we create real impact. With a great team—including some with a TUHH background—we have today opened our demo plant, creating a lighthouse project for the industrial bioeconomy and natural polymers.”
Capacity for Global Pioneer Customers
The new headquarters at the Hamburg-Harburg site combines production, sales, product and technology development, logistics, and administration on around 4,000 m². With a capacity of around 3,000 tons of traceless material per year, well-known pioneer customers will be served in the future — for example, paper and packaging manufacturer Mondi, mail-order company OTTO, and distribution partner Biesterfeld. All central areas of the plant have already been successfully commissioned, and production will be gradually ramped up in the coming months. The plant technology was developed in-house by the traceless team, which currently comprises around 110 employees. The company's pilot plant, which has been operating in Buchholz i.d.N. since 2022, is also planned to be relocated to this site.
The investment volume for the plant amounts to more than €20 million. The project was funded with €5,128,401 from the Environmental Innovation Program of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. To further expand its production capacities in the future, traceless already plans to build a larger industrial plant.
Photos: Isadora Tast
TUHH - Public Relations Office
Michael Tokarski
E-Mail: michael.tokarski@tuhh.de
Phone: +49 30601 3458
