Ecopals

Ecopals (stylised ecopals, legally EcoPals GmbH) is a Berlin-based start-up active in road construction and construction materials. The company develops additives for the production of polymer-modified asphalt in which recycled plastics are a component. Its product line is marketed under the EcoFlakes name. The core proposition is circularity: EcoFlakes are a polymer modification for asphalt that replaces virgin polymers and part of the bitumen, so material costs and the use of primary raw materials fall with every tonne of mix. According to the company, the flakes strengthen asphalt against rutting, cracking and ageing, can be used in all asphalt layers, and are produced from recycled plastics through modern sorting and processing methods that connect the recycling industry with road building in a closed loop. The product is described as indefinitely storable and flexibly applicable, and is dosed directly into asphalt mixing plants using conventional production methods. The company's mission is framed as turning the waste-management sector into a source of construction materials. Beyond the additive itself, ecopals is developing a virtual laboratory that uses simulation and artificial intelligence to support material development and optimisation. Ecopals emerged from earlier recycled-plastic road-building work: a 2019 project under the NePals e.V. initiative in Nepal is regarded as the origin of the later company, and in 2020 a spin-off project was initiated under the Fraunhofer Venture AHEAD programme together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology. EcoPals GmbH was founded in 2021 with support from the Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF), which finances technology-oriented spin-offs. In 2022 the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), a venture fund backed by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, took a stake. In 2024 ecopals closed a Series A round whose new investors included Mitteldeutsche Hartstein-Industrie, a German group in raw materials, building materials and transport infrastructure; Après-demain, the holding of a private Swiss family group; and Companisto, a private-investor network active in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Applications span road construction and surface courses, including the construction and maintenance of roads, car parks, and logistics and industrial surfaces. By 2025 EcoFlakes had reportedly been used in more than 40 projects across seven countries. German applications include a section of the Rader Hochbrücke on the A7 motorway near Rendsburg and a section of the A480 motorway near Blasbach. Internationally, the material has been used in the United Kingdom on several sites in collaboration with local authorities and construction firms including Hochtief. Ecopals has attracted media coverage in outlets such as WirtschaftsWoche and Capital, and on television programmes including Galileo and an MDR documentary. Its awards include the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize in 2022, the IRF Start-Up Label from the International Road Federation in 2025, and a place as a finalist in the German Sustainability Award (Resources transformation field) in 2025. The company continues to position itself at the intersection of recycling, road construction and materials science, with a public presence at industry events such as the IRF Annual Conference.

The origins of ecopals lie in a 2019 project under the NePals e.V. initiative in Nepal concerning the use of recycled plastics in road construction; this project is regarded as the origin of the later company. In 2020 a spin-off project was initiated within the Fraunhofer Venture AHEAD programme, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, focused on the use of recycled plastics in road construction. In 2021 EcoPals GmbH was founded with support from the Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF), which specialises in financing technology-oriented spin-offs. The following year, 2022, the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) — a venture-capital fund supported by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) — took a stake in the company. Also in 2022, ecopals won the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize. In 2024 ecopals closed a Series A funding round. New investors included Mitteldeutsche Hartstein-Industrie, a German corporate group active in raw materials, building materials and transport infrastructure; Après-demain, the holding company of a private Swiss family group; and Companisto, a private-investor network operating in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. By 2025 the company reported that EcoFlakes had been used in more than 40 projects across seven countries. German applications included a section of the Rader Hochbrücke on the federal A7 motorway near Rendsburg and a section of the federal A480 motorway near Blasbach. Internationally, the material was used in the United Kingdom on several sites in collaboration with local authorities and construction companies including Hochtief. In 2025 ecopals received the 'IRF Start-Up Label' from the International Road Federation at the IRF Annual Conference 2025 and was a finalist for the German Sustainability Award in the Resources transformation field. Media coverage of the company has appeared in WirtschaftsWoche and Capital, as well as on television programmes such as Galileo and a documentary by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, illustrating the use of EcoFlakes on road projects. The company has also been discussed in the context of technology-oriented spin-offs and their financing. Looking ahead, ecopals continues to engage with the industry: at the IRF Annual Conference 2026 in Geneva, Managing Partner Jonas Varga is scheduled to speak on reducing fossil dependency in asphalt through recycled-polymer additives.

• 2026

  Managing Partner Jonas Varga scheduled to speak at the IRF Annual Conference 2026 in Geneva on reducing fossil dependency in asphalt.

• 2025

  EcoFlakes reported used in more than 40 projects across seven countries.

• 2025

  Receives the 'IRF Start-Up Label' from the International Road Federation at the IRF Annual Conference 2025.

• 2025

  Finalist for the German Sustainability Award (Resources transformation field).

• 2024

  Closes a Series A funding round with new investors including Mitteldeutsche Hartstein-Industrie, Après-demain and Companisto.

• 2022

  High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) takes a stake in the company.

• 2022

  Wins the Berlin-Brandenburg Innovation Prize.

• 2021

  EcoPals GmbH founded with support from the Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF).

• 2020

  Spin-off project initiated within the Fraunhofer Venture AHEAD programme with the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology.

• 2019

  Project under the NePals e.V. initiative in Nepal on using recycled plastics in road construction, regarded as the origin of the later company.

Sustainable construction-materials start-up turning recycled plastics into asphalt additives that replace virgin polymers and part of the bitumen binder, connecting the waste-management and road-building industries in a circular loop.

• EcoFlakes

  Polymer modification for asphalt made from recycled plastics, replacing virgin polymers and part of the bitumen; strengthens asphalt against rutting, cracking and ageing; usable in all asphalt layers; indefinitely storable and flexibly applicable; dosed directly in asphalt mixing plants.

• Virtual laboratory

  A virtual laboratory under development that uses simulation and artificial intelligence to support the development and optimisation of materials.

1. 1Start | ecopals Straßenbau Additiveecopals.de
2. 2Ecopalswikidata.org
3. 3Ecopalsfr.wikipedia.org