Traceless Materials

Overview

Traceless Materials, branded traceless, is a Hamburg-based materials company founded in 2020 by Dr. Anne Lamp and Johanna Baare. It makes a plastic-free, compostable biomaterial from agricultural plant residues and opened its first industrial production plant in 2026. The candidate was labelled Person in the source pool and has been corrected to Company. The company's website is https://www.traceless.eu .

Why this entity matters

Packaging is a large source of plastic waste, and replacing it with materials that compost without microplastics is a core goal of European climate-tech investors. Traceless is among the best-funded DACH startups in that field, with a EUR 36.6 million Series A in 2023 reported by two sources and a plant opened in 2026 that moves it from pilot to industrial production. It is also a recurring name in German Startup Awards coverage.

Company background

Startup City Hamburg reports that Anne Lamp developed the process during her doctoral research at Hamburg University of Technology and that the company was founded in 2020, with a seed round of just over EUR 1 million in early 2021 and a EUR 2.42 million European Innovation Council grant. HTGF announced a EUR 36.6 million Series A on 25 September 2023; HTGF names UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund and SWEN Blue Ocean as leads, whereas Trending Topics names UB as the lead, so the lead description differs between sources. A grant of about EUR 5 million from the Federal Environment Ministry supported the demonstration plant. The Startuprad.io interview, recorded at the German Startup Awards in 2022, describes a pilot plant, about 20 to 24 employees and total funding of USD 2.8 million at that time; those figures predate the later rounds. In May 2026 trade media and Hamburg University of Technology reported the opening of the first industrial plant, with capacity of about 3,000 tonnes per year and more than EUR 20 million invested; the headcount of about 110 and the 91 percent CO2 saving are from a single trade report and company statements. Startuprad.io has not independently verified revenue, customers or material performance.

Role in the ecosystem

Traceless belongs to the DACH climate-tech, bioeconomy and sustainable-packaging segment. Hamburg's research base at Hamburg University of Technology, regional banks and the city's startup programmes supported its path, while climate venture funds and the High-Tech Gründerfonds provided equity. Named pioneer customers in 2026 trade coverage, Mondi, OTTO and Biesterfeld, represent the packaging, retail and distribution links it is building.

Selected relationships and affiliations

Public sources describe the following relationships. High-Tech Gründerfonds, Planet A and b.value are existing investors, and the Planet A founder discussed Traceless as a portfolio company in a Startuprad.io interview. UB Forest Industry Green Growth Fund and SWEN Blue Ocean are named as Series A investors, and GLS Bank and Hamburger Sparkasse as part of the bank consortium. The European Innovation Council supported the company through its Accelerator. High-Tech Gründerfonds, the European Innovation Council and the German Startup Awards each have their own entity page in the Startuprad.io ledger. The scope of each relationship has not been independently detailed for this record.

Startuprad.io relevance

Startuprad.io lists two posts under the Traceless Materials tag. The 2022 founder interview with Johanna Baare, produced at the German Startup Awards, covers the material, the pilot plant, funding and the team. An interview with Planet A founder Fridtjof Detzner, Investor of the Year at the German Startup Awards 2023, names Traceless as a portfolio company and 2022 German Startup Awards winner in its further-reading section, so the mention is secondary. The interview page and its FAQ describe the award inconsistently, as a win and as a nomination, and both posts carry a 2026 publication date because they were migrated to the current site. The coverage is below the preferred depth of three articles.

Public source context

This record draws on HTGF's Series A announcement at https://www.htgf.de/de/htgf-series-a-traceless-materials/ , Trending Topics' report on the round, Startup City Hamburg's company profile, a bioeconomy interview with the company, a May 2026 trade report on the plant opening, Hamburg University of Technology's news item and Startuprad.io's own archive. Funding amounts, investors, plant data and award statements are as reported by those sources. The company's own claims about compostability and CO2 savings have not been independently verified.

Startuprad.io coverage

From Jimdo Founder to Green Tech VC — Winner of German Startup Awards 2023: Investor of the Year
Published: 15 March 2026
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/from-jimdo-founder-to-green-tech-vc-winner-of-german-startup-awards-2023-investor-of-the-year

Green Startup Traceless Replaces Plastics With Compostable Materials #GSA22 — Founder Interview
Published: 15 March 2026
Last updated: 20 September 2026
Coverage type: Interview
https://www.startuprad.io/post/green-startup-traceless-replaces-plastics-with-compostable-materials-gsa22-founder-interview

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Canonical record: https://www.startuprad.io/entities/traceless-materials .