Sonichem raises €1.4 million to make chemicals from sawdust

In East Midlands, UK, forestry waste-to-chemicals startup Sonichem has raised €1.4 million ($1.5 million) in a Pre-Series A funding, including a follow-on investment from ACF Investors. 

The funds will be used to advance its process technology, which is capable of converting £1 of sawdust into £8 worth of biobased chemicals, and to begin planning its first production plant.

“At Sonichem, our mission is to make the chemical industry more sustainable,” Adrian Black, CEO of Sonichem, tells EU Startups.  “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 finalizing 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.”

The biobased chemicals produced by Sonichem are used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and materials such as resins and films.