In 2008, Prof. Klaas Hellingwerf and Prof. Joost Teixeira de Mattos pooled their respective expertise to address climate change. They theorized it was possible to adapt cyanobacteria to synthesize ethanol. With the potential to create any carbon chemical. The real game-changer? Absorbing CO2. Based on cyanobacteria’s power to photosynthesize, the process the professors dreamt up extracts CO2 from the atmosphere while producing essential industrial compounds. Months of iteration in the lab led to success, our first patent and the birth of Photanol’s renewable revolution.

In order to nurture our fledgling circular ambitions, we needed to demonstrate commercial potential. Our technology must be capable of producing an entire platform of compounds. Transforming any chemical to a sustainable one. Early investment rounds allowed us to form a dedicated Photanol team to power the effort.

They validated that our first patent could lead to many more; enhancing cyanobacteria for 17 individual strains. Proving that what we had on our hands could rock the world. We were officially in the business of restoring balance on our planet.

Early success delivered the perfect moment for a partner with a shared vision for circular chemistry. One with specific expertise and a commercial need. Corbion is a fermentation expert. They produce lactic acid from beet or cane sugar – the raw material needed for PLA (poly lactic acid used for biodegradable bioplastic packaging).

The partnership with Corbion enabled us to develop renewable lactic acid with highest purity; made from CO2. Using 24 times less land and 25 times less water than traditional equivalents.

A key ingredient in the global cosmetics industry, glycolic acid was our next target. To develop a circular solution in this field, we partnered with Nouryon. With two significant partners on board, proven scalability of both our circular organic acids - lactic and glycolic – became the key milestones at our debut pilot plants.

For each proven chemical, early wins in the lab must transform into processes that can scale. Over the course of eight years we validated our organic acids, producing consistently good results over prolonged periods at kg scale, at three different plants. Both Corbion and Nouryon proved their strategic value by contributing decades of downstream expertise. Photanol was now able to demonstrate cost, waste and energy efficiency throughout the entire process.

Fresh off the press in September 2020: We are live at our first demonstration scale plant in Delfzijl. Cyanobacteria have been set free across thousands of meters of tubing laid out in a controlled greenhouse. Sunlight powering the bacteria’s productive magic. Creating a massive and very impressive bio-plant. All with big thanks to funding from four new investors and H2020 Project RePLAy.

We admit we’re a tad ambitious, and the goals we set often keep us up at night. But it’s also led us to two great partners. Now, a third powerhouse is backing the Photanol mission - signing a partnership agreement. With Renolit joining the Photanol journey, we can bring circular innovation to yet another industry - healthcare. Renolit applies polymers in the global medical world and will iterate with Photanol tech to provide truly circular production of plastics (PP/PE) for this essential sector, as well as for the Renolit Group’s other applications.

Our demo plant has the capacity to produce up to 10 tons per year. It’s the intermediary step to producing the kilotons needed for large scale commercial needs. It’s also the testing ground for fine-tuning processes and discovering the optimum equilibrium between investment and returns. Proving that when upscaled, the Photanol process can produce as cost efficiently as old school fossil fuel operations. And, in the long term with even better economics. After biochemicals, biofuels are Photanol’s next disruptive ambition.

Proving commercial viability is next. Photanol is like a lego-block-style blueprint: once fine-tuned and optimized, reaching commercial scale ‘simply’ means joining together a 100 copies of our demo plant. Manufacturing capacity will increase to around 30,000 tonnes. Applying the learnings from the smaller scale demo set-up while embracing engineering insights from industries like agriculture, water treatment plants and others. Methodology that will enable Photanol to compete extremely favourably with non-renewable chemicals. Proving that sustainability isn’t second place to economic profit.

Our first commercial plant is planned to kick-off production in 2028. Rest assured, our upscaling teams are working hard to optimize and maximize production. Constantly iterating to evidence that Photanol is not only the most future-proof solution but also the solution with the lowest footprint of any sustainable option. Our economically sound business cases and new tech breakthroughs acting as instruments in our mission to restore balance to the planet, while powering the world.