Relement (“the renewable element”), a Dutch sustainable chemical company, announced that it has secured €1M in a Seed round of funding from Brabant Startup Fonds (BSF), the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), and TNO.
Smart Industries Fund, managed by Innovation Industries, invested in Relement last year. In addition, Rabobank recently provided an Innovation Loan to Relement.
The latest funding will enable Relement to accelerate the launch of its renewable chemical ingredient, Bio MPA (3-methyl phthalic anhydride). The company will also use the funds to enable pre-commercial trials with select front-runner coating resin customers.
The company says Bio MPA is a unique bio-based chemical ingredient that provides the missing link to making bio-based alkyd coatings. By replacing fossil oil-based ingredients, a huge reduction in the coating’s CO2 footprint will be achieved.
In addition, Bio MPA will improve key properties of paint and coating, such as scratch resistance.
Roger Blokland, CEO of Relement, says, “The Relement team is very pleased with the support provided by our investment partners. These early and local investors subscribe to our mission, which is to provide sustainable chemical ingredients for everyday products which are difficult to recycle. The chemical industry is at the brink of a massive change towards sustainable products and Relement will be providing a solution for key markets.”
Relement: What you need to know
Relement stems from the work that TNO does within Shared Research Center Biorizon. Biorizon, an initiative of TNO and VITO, has been working on the Campus on technologies for the production of functional bio-aromatics since 2013.
The company produces and sells bio-aromatics on a commercial scale for use in lubricants and coatings, among other things.
Aromatics are essential building blocks for the chemical industry: no less than 40 per cent of all chemicals are aromatics. They add functionality to products such as plastics, paints, coatings, and lubricants, including scratch resistance, stability, and UV resistance.
Typically, aromatics are made from fossil feedstock and the production of these chemical building blocks has a negative impact on the climate. The company aims to replace current fossil aromatics with special bio-aromatics.
The Dutch company will offer sustainable chemical ingredients made from locally sourced agricultural non-edible residues, not fossil oil.
The company’s bio-aromatics are a qualitatively better and more sustainable alternative to fossil aromatics in existing products. By replacing petrochemical phthalic anhydride with biobased 3-methylphthalic anhydride, Relement contributes to the green chemical industry and better products.
