Amsterdam’s Biotech Company Photanol has Shut Down and Filed for Bankruptcy

The court of Amsterdam has appointed Els Doornhein of De Vos & Partners as the trustee in the bankruptcy of Photanol B.V. The sudden withdrawal came just as final negotiations for a joint venture were nearing completion, leaving Photanol with insufficient time to secure alternative financing. Despite intensive efforts to find new strategic partners and investors over recent weeks, the limited runway has made it impossible to bridge the gap.

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The closure comes at a tragic juncture, as Photanol had recently validated its core technology and was preparing construction of its tonnes-scale demonstration plant in Delfzijl. The company had successfully developed multiple strains capable of converting CO2 directly into circular industrial chemicals using only sunlight as an energy source, demonstrating production rates that, at larger scale, would enable commercial viability.

Jan Wery, CTO of Photanol said, “It is with deep regret that we must halt our operations just as we were ready to scale up our technology, Our team had solved critical technical challenges and was poised to demonstrate our technology at larger scale. The timing makes this especially painful.”

Since its founding in 2008, Photanol developed a unique platform technology that could produce chemicals while actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere, with applications ranging from biodegradable polymers to cosmetic ingredients. The company’s innovations are protected by multiple patents.

Jeroen van Harten, CEO said, “We want to express our profound gratitude to our dedicated employees, whose tireless efforts brought this revolutionary technology to life, We also thank our shareholders, partners, and Dutch government institutions, including the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, for their continued support throughout our journey.”

While the current entity will cease operations, the bankruptcy trustee Els Doornhein together with the management of Photanol B.V. is actively exploring opportunities to preserve and restart this promising technology platform. The team firmly believes in the technology’s potential to contribute to sustainable chemical production and remains committed to finding a path forward.

About PHOTANOL

At PHOTANOL, they turn their world's CO₂ problem into a solution: their technology uses CO₂ as feedstock to produce renewable chemicals while leaving fossil resources in the ground. Their chemicals can be used to create a large variety of circular products, such as plastics, detergents, beauty and healthcare products, or even biofuels.