Ponda secures 2.35 million pounds to scale wetland-grown BioPuff insulation

UK biomaterials company Ponda has secured a 2.35 million pound grant to lead a major wetland farming project aimed at scaling production of its BioPuff plant-based insulation for fashion and outdoor products.

Backed by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the 30-month project will establish a 30-hectare site for growing typha, or bulrush, on rewetted peatland.

The crop will be central to the development of a domestic supply chain for BioPuff, which has already been utilised by brands including Berghaus, Stella McCartney, Ahluwalia and Sheep Inc.

The project brings together Ponda, J&K Barnard Farms, Liverpool John Moores University, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Finance Earth and Berghaus. It will examine how wetland farming can support both peatland restoration and commercial production of textile materials.

Ponda stated that the project could help establish a scalable model for UK-grown biomaterials, while creating new income opportunities for farmers and landowners. The demonstration is expected to be completed within 30 months.

In a statement, Julian Ellis-Brown, co-founder and CEO of Ponda, said: “We’re not simply developing a new material—we’re building the agricultural, processing and supply chain needed to produce it at scale.

“BioPuff is our first proof point, but the bigger opportunity is demonstrating that restored wetlands can support commercially significant material production.”

The backing comes ahead of Ponda’s next phase of commercial growth, which will be aided by a crowdfunding campaign that has been ongoing since May of this year.

The campaign has almost met its 1.4 million pound target that the team said would be used to support manufacturing scale-up, operational build-out and go-to-market execution.