ECOAT raises €21 million after EEN2EIC-facilitated investor introductions to scale bio-based coatings
- ›French bio-based coatings company ECOAT closed a €21 million funding round with Yotta, Starquest and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund.
- ›The round included support from France 2030 via ADEME and was enabled by investor introductions from the EEN2EIC project.
- ›ECOAT first met Yotta through a Bpifrance pitch session run under EEN2EIC in September 2023 which led to deeper engagement and an eventual investment in April 2025.
- ›EEN2EIC aims to link Enterprise Europe Network activities with the European Innovation Council to accelerate scale up of Seal of Excellence holders and widen support for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
- ›The funding is intended to accelerate ECOATs scale up of sustainable polymers and coatings but significant operational and market risks remain.
ECOAT secures €21 million to scale sustainable coatings after EEN2EIC introductions
ECOAT, a French company that develops bio-based and sustainable polymer coatings, has closed a €21 million financing round. Investors named in the announcement are Yotta, Starquest and the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund. The round also received backing from the French government through the France 2030 plan, channelled by ADEME. The European Enterprise Network to European Innovation Council project known as EEN2EIC played a clear intermediary role by facilitating early pitch introductions that eventually developed into formal investment conversations.
How introductions turned into capital
ECOAT took part in a pitching session organised by Bpifrance under the EEN2EIC project in September 2023. The session was designed to highlight companies holding the European Commission Seal of Excellence and with notable growth potential. ECOATs chief executive Olivier Choulet met representatives from the Growth Equity team at Yotta Capital during that session. That first meeting led to follow up due diligence and meetings ahead of ECOATs fundraising in 2024 and 2025. Yotta reports that the initial exchange was influential in their decision to invest in April 2025. ECOAT says the pitch sessions were an important preparatory step ahead of its Series B close in 2025.
| Item | Details | Timing |
| Pitch session introduction | ECOAT pitched at a Bpifrance session run within EEN2EIC where they met Yotta representatives | September 2023 |
| Fundraising process | Follow up meetings and diligence ahead of a Series B round | 2024 to 2025 |
| Yotta investment | Growth Equity fund of Yotta invested in ECOAT | April 2025 |
| Final close | Total raised including Yotta, Starquest, ECBF and France 2030 via ADEME | Announced January 2026 |
Who backed the round and what they bring
What ECOAT makes and why it matters
ECOAT develops sustainable polymers and coatings that are bio-based rather than derived from fossil feedstocks. Such materials can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and lower reliance on petrochemicals if they are competitive on performance and cost. Coatings are a technically demanding market because they must meet durability, adhesion and regulatory requirements. Substituting legacy chemistries that include harmful substances such as certain fluorochemicals remains a market driver but also a regulatory challenge.
The company says the new capital will accelerate scale up. That typically means moving from pilot lines to larger production runs, securing feedstock supply, and qualifying products with industrial customers. These are capital intensive steps and they often take longer and cost more than early stage technical validation alone.
EEN2EIC explained and its role in the deal
A measured assessment and remaining questions
The announcement frames the investment as a validation of ECOATs technology and of the usefulness of EEN2EIC style matchmaking. There is truth to that but it is worth keeping a critical perspective. Introductory pitch sessions are valuable for creating access to investors but they are only the start of a longer commercial and financing path. The public account does not disclose the deal economics, investor ownership stakes, precise use of proceeds, or performance milestones tied to the new funding.
Operational challenges remain for any company scaling coatings manufacturing. Those include sourcing consistent bio-based feedstocks at scale, meeting industrial performance specifications, securing regulatory approvals in target markets, and building downstream distribution and customer validation. Market competition from incumbents and other cleantech startups can also be intense. Whether the €21 million will be sufficient to de risk these steps depends on the capital intensity of ECOATs chosen scale up pathway.
What this means for EU innovation policy and investors
The case illustrates how EU ecosystem instruments are meant to work together. Seal of Excellence holders can gain visibility through networks such as the EEN and platforms like EuroQuity. National instruments like France 2030 and agencies like ADEME can then layer public support onto private investment. For investors the pitch sessions provide a curated pipeline of technically evaluated projects which saves sourcing time. For policy makers the story is a reminder that matchmaking and labels can help but do not replace the need for patient capital and industrial policy that lowers scale up risk.
EEN2EICs explicit aims to widen access to EIC related support and to involve more relevant actors in the EIC and EEN landscape. The ECOAT outcome will be presented as evidence of the programme value. That is reasonable but broader evaluation should compare how many introductions convert to sustained growth and how public support changes the economics of scaling across sectors and member states.
Key takeaways
ECOATs €21 million round is a positive step for a bio-based materials company trying to industrialise sustainable coatings. EEN2EIC style matchmaking played a clear role in opening doors to investors. However the announcement leaves many standard deal details unspecified and scaling risks remain. The broader policy implication is that curated introductions help but must be combined with substantial follow on capital and industrial support if Europe is to see many more companies progress from lab and pilot to mass manufacture.