2021年5月28日

公司创立的帝国将扩大其创新方法生产可持续的生化药剂,材料和燃料。Lixea关闭了从欧洲投资200万€创新委员会基金共同基金)的飞行员。€230万的投资补充前面的启德格兰特作为欧洲委员会的一部分规模和商业化Lixea技术的支持。公司于2017年成立了由詹森教授哈雷特博士和佛罗伦萨Gschwend(化学工程系)和美国国际集团Brandt-Talbot博士(化学系)。Lixea的专利技术将木材废料或者农业残留物转化为高质量的可持续化学中间体,材料和燃料使用小说,低成本和对环境友好的溶剂,离子液体。最终,该技术将帮助过渡到一个零污染的社会,从工业废物利用圆形bioeconomy。Krisztina Kovacs-Schreiner Lixea首席执行官,说:“这不仅是一个重要的里程碑Lixea,但对于biorefining行业作为一个整体。我们认为,我们正接近一个突破是可持续发展不仅仅是碳排放正成为一个越来越多的担忧,和其他替代化石材料需要被开发。的支持EIC带来额外的可信度Lixea作为技术创新以及欢迎支持我们公司的愿景。”半工业规模设施创新BioFlex过程由Lixea分开不同的天然木材的化学成分,木质素、纤维素和半纤维素。 Once isolated individually, these components can then be used for a variety of applications such as bio-chemicals, precursors for plastics or as new materials themselves. While the process can in principle be used for any type of woody material, the team are developing the process specifically for materials that are currently under-used, such as sawdust and nonrecyclable waste wood from the construction and demolition industries. Lixea is building on its previous lab and testbed-based work by constructing and operating a pilot-scale facility to prove the scalability and commercial viability of its core technology. The pilot plant, under construction, will be based in Bäckhammar, Sweden. Dr Florence Gschwend, Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Chemical Engineering and co-founder and CTO of Lixea, commented on the recent funding: “The convertible loan, which is now completing our funding for the pilot plant, comes as a huge game changer to us. After having operated on a shoe-string budget for the first three years after spinning-out, the funding allows us to grow into a company with the team and resources needed to take this next step. It has been a very unexpected journey from doing a PhD to running a small enterprise to now receiving this multi-million funding. I am very grateful for the support the College has provided along the way.” A supportive innovation ecosystem Lixea has received support at Imperial from We Innovate , a pre-accelerator programme for women founders; Techcelerate , a programme for enterprising postdocs who want to take their research out of the lab; and the Climate-KIC Accelerator . The Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial was a founding partner of the Climate Knowledge Innovation Community (Climate-KIC) and has delivered the successful Climate-KIC Accelerator programme since 2012 - supporting 64 start-ups in securing $275 million of investment and creating 1200 jobs. Professor Richard Templer, Director of Innovation at the Grantham Institute and Hofmann Chair in Chemistry, was instrumental in establishing the Climate-KIC accelerator programme. He comments: “We started this journey a decade ago to help our inventive colleagues, students and people outside the university sector to take ideas to address climate change and make them real. The only way we’re going to solve our most pressing challenges related to climate change is to have the technologies and services to hand that are going to help us change the way we behave, do our work, live our lives and stop polluting the planet. “A great many of the startups we have supported are now having a real and tangible impact towards this mission, and Lixea is a prime example. I wish the team there every success, as they look to scale-up their innovate technology.” This article was first published on May 24 by Imperial College London.