GreenTech scale-up Ecoat, a Grasse-based innovator of sustainable binders in paint, has just closed a €21 million funding round to innovate one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries: the coatings and paints sector, which reportedly accounts for 2% of global industrial GHG emissions.
The round includes €18 million in equity from Yotta Capital, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), and Starquest, with additional support from the French government’s France 2030 plan via ADEME. An upcoming debt package backed by Bpifrance and Ecoat’s banking partners will bring the total to over €21 million.
“This marks a turning point for Ecoat. With the support of our new partners, we’re ready to scale fast — expanding production, accelerating R&D, and going global — all while staying true to our mission: making sustainable coatings the industry standard. We’re proud to be a European leader already — and now, we’re stepping into the US and Asian markets to take this impact to the next level,” says Olivier Choulet, CEO of Ecoat.
Founded in 2011, Ecoat is on a mission to transform the coatings industry with eco-designed, bio-based solutions that reduce environmental impact and promote a circular economy.
Ecoat develops water-based, bio-based, and high-performance binders that replace fossil-derived polymers in decorative, wood, and metal paints. Driven by green chemistry and eco-design, the company integrates sustainability, performance, and life cycle analysis into their innovation.
“With its investment in Ecoat, Yotta is proud to finance through its Growth Fund Yotta Growth Industry a French leading industrial SMEs which brings to the market innovative and cost-competitive low-carbon solutions to accelerate the decarbonisation of the paint and coating industry. We will work alongside Ecoat’s management and our co-investors to help accelerate its growth and its positive impact on the environment,” said Nadia Bouzigues, Managing Partner at Yotta Capital Partners.
With an average annual growth rate of 60% over the past 5 years, Ecoat is reportedly outperforming a coatings market that has remained flat or even declined in recent years — a testament to the the urgency of the ecological transition.
According to Ecoat, their binders don’t just lower emissions — they enable true industrial-scale decarbonisation. Thanks to a combination of life cycle assessment expertise, bio-based formulation know-how, and a Responsible Care commitment to safe chemical management, Ecoat aims to help an entire industry transform its environmental footprint — without compromising performance.
“As an investor committed to advancing circular bioeconomy, we at ECBF are proud to support the expansion strategy of Ecoat, a technology leader with a clear commitment to sustainability and circularity. Ecoat’s unique bio-based solutions have already proven their potential in the cost-efficient de-fossilisation of paints and coatings” adds Michael Nettersheim, General Partner at ECBF.
This new funding will fuel Ecoat’s next phase of growth:
- Scale production to 30,000 tons of bio-based binders at its Roussillon plant
- Expand the team across R&D, operations, and commercial
- Accelerate international expansion in Europe, the US, and Asia
- Launch new products and deepen strategic partnerships with global industrial leaders
- Pursue targeted build-up opportunities, leveraging its solid growth to consolidate and expand its leadership in sustainable coatings
“We’ve been backing Ecoat since the very beginning, in 2013 — long before the coatings sector turned its eyes to sustainability. From those early days to becoming a European market leader, we’ve watched Ecoat turn vision into execution. This new round marks a new chapter: one of international growth, especially in the US market, to maximise the decarbonisation impact in the global building industry,” adds Chloé Cohen-Aknine, Investment Director at Starquest Capital.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2025/04/ecoat-secures-e21-million-to-reinvent-the-future-of-paint-sustainably/
