Kerra: Keratin-Based Platform to Replace Fossil-Fuel Materials
Image Credit: Yasin Guçluturk via Unsplash.com
A sustainable process to extract high-performance keratin ingredients and biomaterials from waste wool for the cosmetics and textile industries.
About the Technology
Today, over 85% of wool is discarded globally. Kerra has developed a sustainable process to extract keratin from this waste wool, creating ingredients with excellent film-forming properties and a flexible hold on skin and hair. By unlocking this large agricultural waste stream, Kerra creates high-value bio-based keratin polymers for the cosmetic and textile industries.
Unlike conventional keratin extraction that degrades the protein, Kerra’s process keeps the protein structure intact, giving it performance that rivals synthetic alternatives. This positions our ingredient to functionally replace synthetic film formers and other polymer additives across beauty products and textiles.
By closing the loop in wool production, Kerra provides brands with a naturally derived sustainable alternative to conventional synthetic chemicals and farmers with a new financial opportunity.
During the HIT Fund tenure, the team will solidify the go-to-market strategy and form early partnerships across the supply chain. With early pilots the team will demonstrate cost-effectiveness and sustainability through a combined techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment.
Team Members
Isha Kulkarni
MBA Fellow
Stanford Graduate School of Business