About

Metis Seagrass creates natural fiber-based eco surfaces made from the dried seagrass P.Oceanica In many indoor spaces there is a lot of pollution, at least 2 to 5 times more, compared to outside because of the materials we use that release toxic gases and of course are not ecofriendly. One other problem is that every year the municipalities in Greece pay a lot of money to throw huge amounts of seagrass into the landfills. Instead of being a huge cost, seagrass for us is a huge resource. By using only the dried seagrass as raw material, for our eco surfaces, we reduce the volume of waste in landfills, and at the same time, we contribute to recycling and the circular economy. Metis Seagrass eco surfaces are made using an innovative and unique way of repurposing a sustainable material.

Solution & Product

Metis Seagrass creates natural fibre-based eco surfaces made from the dried seagrass, Posidonia Oceanica, and biological binders, for use in indoor spaces to provide a healthier alternative to traditional materials and improve indoor pollution. We aim to inspire the growing popularity of using renewable materials by providing eco surfaces that combine a minimal carbon footprint with contemporary design. Metis Seagrass eco surfaces offer a viable alternative to traditional petrochemical and non-ecological panels and surfaces, the main culprits of indoor pollution. We have achieved during production: no water used, zero waste, and minimumuse of energy. Metis Seagrass follows the Circular Economy principles. Seagrass has healthy properties. It is antifungal, antibacterial, anti-allergenic and it has insulation properties (like thermal and acoustic) and it is a very lightweight material. These positive attributes give it an advantage over other surfaces. We have developed a variety of different surfaces to expand their application and are fully customisable to provide freedom for designers and to adapt to market requirements.

Innovation & Scalability

Metis Seagrass eco surfaces are made using an innovative and unique way of repurposing a sustainable material. We have achieved during production: no water used, zero waste, and minimum use of energy. Metis Seagrass follows the Circular Economy principles. Seagrass has healthy properties (antifungal, antibacterial, anti-allergenic), insulation properties (thermal and acoustic), and is a lightweight material. These positive attributes give it an advantage over other surfaces. Therefore we have created products that take advantage of these properties. The seagrass Surfaces are characterised by their naturalness, authenticity and are fully customisable. We provide a variety of colours using natural pigments and we work closely with our clients for colour matching. We can use different substrates based on customer projects. Recently, we developed flexible fabric, paper-based and self-adhesive paper surfaces that are lightweight and easy to apply. This way we expand their applications to more markets. We have a patent in Greece (OVI) and a patent-pending status for Metis Seagrass eco surfaces in WIPO.

Traction & achievements

Metis Seagrass focuses on its target market, the construction industry by maintaining and increasing its collaboration with material libraries, architectural firms, and distributors for new materials. Developing new flexible surfaces the company targets new markets and industries like the packaging. The company sells its surfaces directly or via distributors to interested parties (B2B) and collaborates with material libraries that promote our product worldwide, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Dubai. In 2015 Metis was the official supplier of 100% Design London 2015. Its surfaces have attracted the attention of architects and designers like Foster, GENSLER, Philippe Starck, Volkswagen collaborating with IMAT UVE Munich, and BRAIN of MATERIALS, Germany. In 2019 the seagrass surfaces were applied at IKEA in Athens, a table lamp made of seagrass is at the Natural History Museum of Mons, Belgium. Metis Seagrass participated in exhibitions in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Canada. In 2020 sales and production were initiated for projects in Greece, Italy and Germany and new flexible eco-friendly seagrass surfaces were developed for various applications. Metis Seagrass in 2013 won the first prize in the "Cleantech Open" competition, in 2021 received the "2021 Leaders in Luxury AWARD", in the UK, nominated for the "RUSHLIGHT AWARDS 2021" in London, in Dubai Big5 Start-Up City received an AWARD from CATALYST- Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. In 2022 is NOMINEE for the "GREEN PRODUCT DESIGN AWARDS".

Team & Why Us

Ioannis Pavlakis is the Founder. Inventor of the seagrass eco surfaces. Patent application with number PCT/GR2017/000043. Ioannis Pavlakis has a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the British Civil Aviation Authorities. A (BA) degree in Spatial Design from Central Saint Martins, College of Art and Design in London, and a teaching degree PGCE in Design and technology from Greenwich University with experience gained in London. Metis Seagrass focuses on its target market which is the construction industry by maintaining and increasing its relationship base with material libraries, architectural firms, and distributors for new materials that promote our product worldwide in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Shanghai, and Seoul. We are always alert to develop new seagrass-based materials to expand in new markets. Taking into consideration the needs of a future investor and partner, we are the right team that could be trusted and secures a serious collaboration. Our goal is to increase the received investment for the benefit of our investors. That is why we believe that the steps we follow should be carefully planted, always receiving advice, guidance and establishing collaborations whenever it is necessary from specialised professionals. We believe in teamwork for successful outcomes.

Funding Needs

We want funding to certify our surfaces for fire, acoustic, and thermal insulation properties, in order to have a more competitive product for the construction sector. Additional funding to organize and increase production incorporating the necessary equipment and machinery. Our goal is to expand in maritime and automotive industries where lightweight eco-friendly products are in demand. We are open to proposals. At this stage, it is very important to expand our network for collaboration to increase our production and sales. We are interested to attract funding and research partners in order to develop further our surfaces and create new products using seagrass as prime material because Seagrass has great potential due to its properties. Our next step is to develop solid acoustic and thermal insulative seagrass panels. Therefore, it is important to attract INVESTMENT, FUNDING and BUSINESS PARTNERS to : -ORGANISE & INCREASE PRODUCTION -DEVELOP MARKETING STRATEGY and INCREASE SALES NETWORK, -ORGANISE R&D for new biocomposites industries -NEW MATERIALS DEVELOPEMENT to target more markets