LignoPure secures funding to scale-up its lignin transformation technology

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF. 

LignoPure, a start-up focused on transforming raw lignin into valuable materials and intermediary products, has closed its seed round (2.2 M€) with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg GmbH (IFH) and Swiss Holding Tanovis AG. The funding will allow LignoPure to scale its own technology for the transformation of lignin (a byproduct of the pulp and paper industries and biorefineries) into tailor made particles for industrial applications and accelerate its market entry. 

Figure 1. LignoPure concept (taken from the company website) 

LignoPure GmbH was founded in 2019 by Joana Gil, Wienke Reynolds and Stefan Boersting as a spinoff of the Institute of Thermal Separation Processes lead by Professor Irina Smirnova at TUHH. It has received multiple awards including the German StartGreen Award and the International Future Hamburg Award, the team also received the support of the InnoRampUp program by the Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank. 

LignoPure is positioning as game changer in the way that lignin is applied into products, offering tailor-made powders according to the intended application and bringing the properties that lignin has in nature to the end products that will be offered to consumers. With this investment, the startup will scale up their technology for the production of LignoBase® (100% natural ultrafine, high quality lignin particles) that will be primarily offered as functional ingredient in cosmetics and replace harmful fossil-based materials. For the first time, LignoPure will be able to deliver high-quality lignin for cosmetics on ton-scale. LignoPure works beyond the supply of lignin powders but aims to assist their customers in launching their own innovative, sustainable, and lignin-based products by offering tailored solutions and development services for Life Sciences as well as new materials.

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