EcoPals GmbH

What EcoPals GmbH does

EcoPals GmbH is a Berlin-based materials technology company founded in 2021 that develops sustainable polymer additives for road construction. Its core product, EcoFlakes, is a polymer modification made from recycled plastics that replaces virgin polymers and a portion of bitumen in asphalt mixes. The company states the additive reduces CO2 footprint of asphalt by up to 20% and lowers per-tonne material costs while improving resistance to rutting, cracking, and aging, and is applicable across all asphalt layers with unlimited shelf life.

The company operates a dual structure combining a physical product business with a digital R&D platform. EcoFlakes is sold B2B to asphalt manufacturers through a direct sales-led motion with dedicated account contacts; deployed projects include the German A7 highway, the Rader Hochbrücke, Berlin municipal streets such as Torgauer Straße in Schöneberg, and a UK trial at Motherwell park with North Lanarkshire Council. Complementing this, the Virtual Lab — co-funded by the EU ProFIT program — combines molecular simulations with AI/ML to digitally screen material variants and reduce physical testing requirements by approximately 10x. The company has raised approximately €4M in an August 2024 round with investors including Après-demain, Companisto, MHIGRUPPE, and Nico Rosberg, and holds the IRF Start-Up Label 2025 and IBU membership #400 as industry credentials.

Name

EcoPals GmbH

Legal name

EcoPals GmbH

Website

https://ecopals.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EcoPals GmbH is a Berlin-based materials startup (founded 2021) that sells EcoFlakes, a recycled-plastic polymer additive replacing virgin polymers in asphalt, directly to asphalt manufacturers for use in sustainable road construction projects across Germany and the UK.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Road Construction Materials

NAICS

Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing (326), Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial and Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing (3252)

SIC

Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080), Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Polymer-Modified Asphalt (PMB) & Modified Binders (SBS/Crumb Rubber/Plastomers) (EUALAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Compostable & Bio-Based Packaging (PLA/PHA, Starch Blends, Cellulose Films) (IMALAMAB), Sustainable Additives & Plasticizers (bio-plasticizers, stabilizers, compatibilizers) (IMANANAH), Biodegradable Additives & Masterbatches (pro-oxidant-free, bio-based modifiers) (IMAEAOAD)

Keywords

• Sustainable asphalt additives
• Recycled plastic polymers
• Road construction materials
• Polymer modified bitumen
• Circular economy construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EcoFlakes Asphalt Additive Sales: B2B sales of EcoFlakes sustainable polymer modification product to asphalt manufacturers. Product replaces virgin polymers and reduces both emissions and material costs per tonne of asphalt mix.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EcoPals GmbH develops and sells EcoFlakes, a sustainable polymer modification additive for asphalt made from recycled plastics that replaces virgin polymers and parts of bitumen. The product reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20% and lowers material costs per tonne of asphalt mix, and is supplied directly to asphalt manufacturers. The company also operates Virtual Lab, an AI-powered material development platform funded by the EU ProFIT program.

Product overview

EcoPals GmbH operates as a dual-product company. The core commercial offering is EcoFlakes, a sustainable asphalt additive made from recycled plastic that replaces virgin polymers in asphalt mixture, reducing CO2 footprint by up to 20%. Complementing the product business is the Virtual Lab platform, an AI-enabled digital tool for material development that uses molecular simulations combined with AI to predict material properties and reduce physical testing requirements. The EcoFlakes product is sold directly to asphalt manufacturers, while the Virtual Lab supports internal R&D and potentially external material science applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EcoFlakes: Sustainable polymer modification for asphalt that replaces virgin polymers and parts of bitumen, reducing emissions and material costs.
• Virtual Lab
• ProFIT Virtual Lab

Products and services

• EcoFlakes EcoFlakes is a sustainable polymer modification additive for asphalt made from recycled plastics. It replaces virgin polymers and parts of bitumen, reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20%, lowers material costs per tonne of mix, and strengthens asphalt against rutting, cracking, and aging. Applicable in all asphalt layers for a wide range of use cases; sold B2B to asphalt manufacturers.
• Virtual Lab by ecopals Virtual Lab by ecopals is a digital material development platform that combines molecular simulations with AI to precisely predict properties of new materials. It enables digital testing of tens of thousands of material variants and reduces the number of physical tests required by up to 10x. It supports the development of sustainable construction materials and was funded by the EU ProFIT program.

Quantifiable outcome

• CO2 footprint reduction of asphalt by up to 20%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ByFusion Global: US-based company that converts mixed plastic waste into building blocks (ByBlocks) for construction. Comparable as a recycling-to-construction-materials startup pursuing circular economy narratives in infrastructure markets.
• MacRebur: UK-based company that produces MR products made from recycled plastics for use as bitumen extenders and binders in asphalt. Directly comparable to EcoPals as a startup commercializing recycled-plastic asphalt additives to road authorities, with similar sustainability narrative.
• PlasticRoad: Dutch venture developing road surfaces and structural elements using recycled plastics. Comparable as a European startup applying recycled plastic technology to road construction, though more focused on modular road structures than bitumen modification.

Broad incumbents

• Heidelberg Materials: Major German-headquartered building materials producer with significant asphalt and aggregates operations in Europe and strong sustainability roadmap. Comparable as a European incumbent supplying road construction materials to the same municipal and highway buyers.
• Kraton Corporation: Global specialty chemical producer of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) and other polymers used as performance additives in modified asphalt binders. Comparable as a major incumbent in polymer-modified asphalt, representing the conventional technology EcoFlakes seeks to disrupt.
• CEMEX: Global building materials company with major concrete and asphalt operations and active sustainability programs (Vertua, lower-carbon products). Comparable as a large incumbent whose customers (road contractors and authorities) overlap with EcoPals' target market.
• CRH plc: Global building materials group operating aggregates, asphalt, and readymix concrete businesses across Europe and North America. Comparable as a major incumbent with sustainability-linked product initiatives addressing road infrastructure decarbonization.
• BASF: Global chemical major producing construction chemicals, polymer modifiers, and specialty additives used in road and infrastructure applications. Comparable as a broad incumbent with R&D resources that could develop competing recycled-content asphalt solutions.
• Eastman Chemical: US specialty chemical company with additives and advanced materials used in road construction, including polymer-modified asphalt applications. Comparable as an established chemical supplier with infrastructure-grade products and long-term customer relationships.

Emerging players

• TechniSoil Industrial: US-based company developing industrial additives and binders for asphalt, including recycling and lower-carbon solutions. Comparable as a smaller emerging player in sustainable asphalt additives with overlapping customer segments in road construction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EcoPals GmbH