A New York-founded biomaterials company has announced the opening of operations in Houston after research found the region's workforce “perfectly suited to biomaterials.”
Bucha Bio, founded in 2019, creates in textiles and composite materials made from bacterial nanocellulose, a much more sustainable materials production, that can be used instead of animal leather, polyurethane, latex, vinyl, epoxy, and more. The company announced in a press release today that it's moving from New York City and opening a next-gen materials headquarters at the East End Maker Hub. Bucha Bio has also been accepted as a member company at Greentown Labs.
According to the release, over 20 locations were considered, and Houston stood out for its hiring potential, local universities, Texas's business-friendly regulation, and more.
“We’ve signed on senior scientists and their experiences from the oil and plastic industry are perfectly suited to biomaterials,” says Zimri T. Hinshaw, CEO of Bucha Bio, in the release.
One of these new local hires was Alex Kalin, who joined the company as senior materials scientist from Halliburton.
“It’s a great time to be involved in developing sustainable materials technologies," Kalin says in the release. "Having the opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment was a key factor for me joining Bucha Bio.”
Houston's chemical plant carbon footprint includes 56 gigatons tons of carbon that will be produced from now until 2050 — this number could be shrunk with sustainable alternatives like the one Bucha Bio provides. This potential has been recognized by Greentown Labs.
“Bringing world class energy transition companies like Bucha Bio to Houston is a win-win; not only is Bucha positioned to tap into a diverse talent pool from Universities such as Rice, University of Houston, and Texas A&M, but a wealth of extant talent which is looking to transition their careers; Zimri and his team bring more than technology to Houston, they bring the knowhow, vigor, and network it takes to build meaningful disruptive technology company," says Jason Ethier, senior director of memberships at Greentown Houston.
Last fall, Bucha Bio raised $550,000 in funding led by Houston-based New Climate Ventures with support from SOSV’s IndieBio.
“Bucha Bio’s move to Houston marks a milestone for their ability to keep up with the growing demand for their products and for our shared vision of a clean environment for generations to come," Eric Rubenstein of NCV says.