Grasse, France – March 2025 – French green-tech scale-up Ecoat has just closed a €21 million funding round to shake up one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries: the coatings and paints sector, which alone accounts for 2% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions. By replacing fossil-based binders with bio-based, low-carbon alternatives, Ecoat is paving the way for a radically more sustainable future.
The round includes €18 million in equity from leading environmentally committed investors — Yotta Capital, the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), and Starquest, Ecoat’s historic investor since 2013 — 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.
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 decarbonization of the paint & 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.
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-fossilization of paints and coatings” adds Michael Nettersheim, General Partner at ECBF.
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 maximize the decarbonization impact in the global building industry,” adds Chloé Cohen-Aknine, Investment Director at Starquest Capital.
A Deep Tech Mission, Rooted in Nature
Born in Grasse in 2011 — and officially a “Société à Mission” since 2022 — 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 the heart of every innovation.
With an average annual growth rate of 60% over the past 5 years, Ecoat is outperforming a coatings market that has remained flat or even declined in recent years — a testament to both the quality of its solutions and the urgency of the ecological transition.
Driving the Transition to Low-Impact Coatings
Ecoat’s binders don’t just lower emissions — they enable true industrial-scale decarbonization. Thanks to a powerful combination of life cycle assessment expertise, deep bio-based formulation know-how, and a Responsible Care commitment to safe chemical management, Ecoat is actively helping an entire industry transform its environmental footprint — without compromising performance.
And with a strong rebound expected in the global coatings market, Ecoat is perfectly positioned to capture the momentum and aims to deliver strong double-digit growth in 2025.
What’s Next? Industrial Scale Meets Global Reach
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
Backed by its new environmentally committed investors — Yotta Capital and ECBF, and long-time partners like Starquest, 123 Investment Managers, Smalt Capital, Region Sud Investissment and KYOSEIL AM, Ecoat is entering a new era of sustainable industrial leadership.
About Ecoat
Created 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. From R&D to rollout, every step is driven by a belief: better chemistry leads to a better future.
For more information : contact@ecoat.fr , www.ecoat.fr
About Yotta Capital
Yotta Capital Partners, the first private equity platform dedicated to a “ low-carbon ” industry, is an AMF-approved management company specializing in growth capital and buy-outs. Its team consists of highly regarded Private Equity professionals and top-tier industrial profiles. Committed to the environment, Yotta Capital Partners supports industrial SMEs seeking to limit their environmental impact. Yotta invests in French and European industrial companies through two funds and strategies: Yotta Smart Industry, a buyout and expansion capital fund dedicated to industrial SMEs, and Yotta Growth Industry, which supports industrial scale-ups. The Yotta platform offers them strong support in their growth, decarbonization and sobriety challenges in terms of environmental footprint (biodiversity, water management, etc.). Yotta Capital Partners is a member of IC 20 and has been awarded the Relance label. All its funds are SFDR Article 9 funds. The Yotta Growth Industry fund has also been awarded the Tibi 2 label.
For more information, visit www.yottacapital.fr
About ECBF
The European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), launched in 2020, is the first venture fund exclusively dedicated to accelerating the shift from a fossil-based to a bio-based circular economy. With €300 million raised, ECBF invests €2-10 million in growth-stage companies across sectors like agtech, food & nutrition, industrial biotech and bio-based materials. As an Article 9 fund under SFDR, ECBF screens investments for highest ESG criteria, aligning with European environmental goals. The fund combines financial support with industry expertise to foster innovation and sustainability in Europe’s bioeconomy sector. ECBF is focused on deploying capital in attractive and impactful companies based in the EU-27 or 16 HORIZON 2020 associated countries. Based in Luxembourg, the fund is managed by Hauck & Aufhäuser Funds Services S.A. as Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) and advised by the experienced investment team of ECBF Management GmbH based in Germany.
www.ecbf.vc
About Starquest Capital
Starquest Capital is a leading impact-driven investment firm, specializing in high-growth opportunities across the ecological transition and sustainable economy sectors. For over 15 years, Starquest has backed deep-tech industrial startups driving the green transformation — particularly in renewable energy and critical resource preservation. Managing over €400 million in assets, Starquest invests in Series A and B rounds through its SFDR Article 9 fund, Starquest Protect. Furthermore, Starquest launched CCR-F – the first European investment fund dedicated to natural disaster prevention and climate adaptation. The firm is majority-owned (51%) by Montefiore Investment, a prominent European private equity player focused on small and mid-cap companies.
www.starquest-capital.com
