[Funding alert] Cleantech Startup Sonichem Secures €1.4 Million Pre-Series A in Funding

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Adrian Black, CEO of Sonichem, said: “At Sonichem, our mission is to make the chemical industry more sustainable. Now we’ve completed the first phase of our Pre-series A round, we’re looking to enter our next stage of commercial development as we look to scale our offerings and build towards finalising our Pre-series A round and raising our Series A to support the development of our biorefinery plant in the North of the UK. ACF’s investment is a continued vote of confidence in our mission and we’re excited to get going.”

For more than 50 years, petrochemicals have been a vital component of many industries, including construction, the life sciences, and cosmetics. But this dependence has a high price: the UK's petrochemical sector alone produces over 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually.

Environmental demands require a transition away from chemicals obtained from fossil fuels (oil and gas) and toward sustainable chemicals sourced from natural resources.

In a number of industries, including materials (resins, composite plastics, films), cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, toxic petrochemicals that are bad for both humans and the environment are about to be replaced with sustainable bio-based chemicals made using Sonichem's ground-breaking technique.

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Sonichem is currently in charge of a group that received a £600,000 grant from Innovate UK to expedite the development of its ultrasound technology in order to manufacture sustainable materials for the automotive industry. Sonichem was recognized in 2021 with the Royal Society of Chemistry's "Best Encouraging Technology" award.

With the most recent investment, the company plans to finalize the design and location of a first-of-its-kind commercial biorefinery facility, accelerate the development of its technology, and continue research and IP generation.

Tim Mills, Managing Partner at ACF Investors, added: “The market for sustainable bio-based chemicals has evolved rapidly in the last few years and is forecast to grow to $26.7 billion by 2028. Driving this growth is global demand to transition supply chains to robust and cost viable sources of supply, which utilise clean technological solutions that reduce our reliance on non-sustainable hydro-carbon reserves. Sonichem’s technology forms an essential part of the global transition story and we are delighted to be a part of their remarkable journey.”

About Sonichem

Sonichem biorefinery technology, created by Bio-Sep, transforms low-value woody biomass, such as sawdust, into high-value green chemicals, such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin sugars. While the company is working on plans to design and construct a commercial biorefinery in the upcoming year, the technology is being tested on an industrial-scale pilot plant.