The startup produces crude lignin oil and crude sugar oil from agricultural and forestry residues, providing a bio-based alternative to fossil fuels for the petrochemical industry. This sustainable raw material can replace fossil crude oil in the production of materials, chemicals, and fuels, offering a renewable source for companies seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Funding
$12.1M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
MGSIFounders
Product
Problem
The petrochemical industry relies heavily on fossil fuels, contributing significantly to carbon emissions and environmental degradation. There is a need for sustainable, bio-based alternatives to replace fossil crude oil in the production of materials, chemicals, and fuels.
Solution
Vertoro provides a bio-based alternative to fossil resources by producing crude lignin oil (CLO) and crude sugar oil (CSO) from agricultural and forestry residues. Their technology transforms waste woody biomass or technical lignin into a green platform product called Goldilocks®, which can replace fossil crude oil in various applications. The process involves mixing the biomass with a solvent and heating it, resulting in a product that can be used to create materials, chemicals, and fuels, enabling customers to significantly decrease their carbon footprint without requiring changes to their existing hardware. Vertoro's patented thermal solvolytic process allows for the creation of stable lignin oligomers that are solvent soluble and melt-flowable, making them easy to process while retaining their natural properties.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes companies in the petrochemical industry seeking sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels for the production of materials, chemicals, and fuels.
Features
- Produces Goldilocks® from waste woody biomass or technical lignin through a thermal solvolytic process.
- Offers both crude lignin oil (CLO) and crude sugar oil (CSO) as platform products.
- Patented process (WO2019/053287) involves mixing solid lignin with a polar organic solvent, heating at moderate temperatures (200ºC) and pressures (<50 bars) without additional catalysts.
- Sister process (EP19200489.3) produces Goldilocks® directly from lignocellulosic biomass.
- Lignin remains in its natural polymeric structure, slightly fragmented in the form of oligomers, which are meltable and soluble in any polar organic solvent.
- Feedstock policy focuses on the use of residual biomass instead of virgin plant material.