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DigestAI looks at the Radicle Corn Value Change Challenge

October 23, 2024 |

Special to The Digest, via the DigestAI engine

The Radicle Corn Value Chain Challenge aims to identify and invest in companies creating innovative uses for corn, driving sustainable demand and replacing fossil fuel-derived materials. This document analyzes the four finalists: Catalyxx, Låkril, me Energy, and New Iridium.

Key Themes:

  • Bio-based Chemical Production: All four companies are developing technologies to produce bio-based chemicals from corn-derived feedstocks, targeting large existing markets and offering sustainable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based products.
  • Sustainability and Decarbonization: These companies are addressing the growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions by offering corn-based alternatives that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.
  • Innovation and Scalability: Each company presents a unique technological approach, from novel catalysts to photocatalytic processes. The challenge lies in scaling these technologies to commercially viable levels and achieving cost parity with existing solutions.
  • Market Opportunity and Corn Demand: The potential for these technologies to create significant new demand for corn is substantial, ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of bushels annually, depending on market penetration and product adoption.

Finalist Summaries:

1. Catalyxx:

  • Technology: Proprietary catalyst and process for converting bioethanol to high-value chemicals like n-butanol and n-hexanol.
  • Market: Global butanol market valued at >$5B with a 3.5% CAGR. Potential to replace up to 235 million bushels of corn annually in US butanol production.
  • Strengths: Capable CEO, strong patent portfolio, and a commercial partnership funding a new production plant.
  • Risks: Capital-intensive commercialization, slow-growing initial market, and potential price premium compared to fossil-based alternatives.
  • Quote: “The catalytic transformations of ethanol to linear alcohols follow a multistep pathway… provides several intermediates that lead to a plethora of everyday products, replacing petroleum-derived high chain alcohols.”

2. Låkril:

  • Technology: Thermochemical catalytic process to convert lactic acid (derived from corn) to acrylic acid.
  • Market: Global acrylic acid market valued at $11B with a 4-6% CAGR. Potential to replace up to 700 million bushels of corn annually.
  • Strengths: High feedstock conversion yield (90%), signed LOI with a potential offtake partner, and ongoing discussions with major acrylic users.
  • Risks: Price premium for bio-based acrylic acid, reliance on a three-way partnership model, and a board needing strengthening.
  • Quote: “Though extensive, these prior industrial activities… have neither led to patents claiming performance above 90% yield nor a commercialized process to manufacture bio-based acrylics.”

3. me Energy:

  • Technology: Off-grid rapid charging stations for electric vehicles powered by bioethanol or biomethanol.
  • Market: Global EV charging market valued at $7.3B with an 8.8% CAGR. Potential to drive demand for 1.13 billion bushels of corn based on off-grid charging needs.
  • Strengths: First-mover advantage, strong commercial traction with enterprise clients, and a patent portfolio focused on design and functionality.
  • Risks: International patents pending nationalization, potential for technology to be copied, and reliance on EV adoption rates.
  • Quote: “Portable, rapid-charging hubs installed anywhere for EVs could help solve this issue and stimulate EV adoption.”

4. New Iridium:

  • Technology: Novel photocatalytic process to produce bio-acetic acid and bio-ethyl acetate from bioethanol and CO2.
  • Market: Global acetic acid market valued at $13B-$16B with a 7-8% CAGR. Potential to replace up to 2.2 billion bushels of corn annually.
  • Strengths: High selectivity in chemical production, potential for cost parity with traditional methods, and applicability to various high-value chemical markets.
  • Risks: Mostly academic team, core patent pending, scaling challenges with a novel technology, and lack of customer engagement.
  • Quote: “The company uses a light-driven solution (LED powered by renewables) to produce low-carbon chemicals at lower or comparable costs without relying on carbon taxes or credits.”

Conclusion:

All four finalists present compelling solutions with the potential to significantly impact the corn value chain. Radicle Growth faces the challenge of evaluating technological feasibility, market potential, and investment risks to select the company that best aligns with its vision for a sustainable and innovative future for corn.

More on me energy

● Me Energy develops and sells off-grid, low-carbon, rapid charging stations for electric vehicles, which are fueled by biofuels, like bioethanol. The company seeks to promote electric vehicle adoption and help decarbonize transportation, which is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.
● The global electric vehicle (EV) charging market is expected to increase from 7.3 billion US dollars in 2024 to 12.1 billion US dollars in 2030, with the majority of growth in East China, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Me Energy could benefit from this growth, as its chargers have several advantages over traditional, grid-connected chargers:
○ They can be installed anywhere without the need for expensive and time-consuming grid extensions.
○ They can provide backup power generation.
○ They can be easily relocated.
● Me Energy’s chargers are also more efficient than battery-powered chargers, as they can store 20 times more energy.
● Me Energy is a first mover in the market for biofuel-powered EV chargers and has already secured several large enterprise customers. The company has generated 2.1 million euros in revenue in 2023 and at least 4.6 million euros in revenue year-to-date in 2024.
●Me Energy’s chargers could potentially promote the use of corn, as they can be fueled by bioethanol, which can be derived from corn. In the United States, Me Energy is focused on promoting e-mobility in rural areas, including electrification of farm vehicles and equipment.
● Me Energy has filed 11 international patent applications related to its charging stations, including patents for the overall concept, generator, power generation, energy storage, decentralized power plant, energy conversion charging efficiency, energy flows, startup time reduction, and refueling system.
● While biofuel-powered charging stations seem simple, Me Energy has invested in sophisticated engineering that has resulted in superior performance. For example, the company has developed unique fuel tank features that result in lighter weight and greater mobility for its chargers.
● Me Energy is currently raising an 11.1 million US dollar Series B round of funding to help the company penetrate the construction market, enter markets in France and Spain, launch a heavy charger built for heavy vehicles, and spin off a stand-alone generator station.

More on New Iridium

New Iridium is a company that is developing renewable, low-carbon chemicals using a novel photocatalytic technology platform. The company’s goal is to revolutionize chemical production using light instead of high heat.
● New Iridium’s process for producing bio-acetic acid is carbon negative (-0.14 kg carbon dioxide/kg AcOH).This is because it uses bio-ethanol as a feedstock. In comparison, the incumbent process for producing acetic acid (the Cativa process) emits +1.10 kg carbon dioxide/kg AcOH.
● New Iridium’s technology has the potential to disrupt the chemical industry by providing a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional, petroleum-based methods. The company’s beachhead product is acetic acid, a crucial chemical intermediate used to make a wide range of products, including plastics, textiles, and adhesives.
● New Iridium’s photocatalytic technology can potentially be used to produce other high-value chemicals besides acetic acid. For example, New Iridium has achieved proof of concept for 12 other large-volume chemicals.
● New Iridium has a strong technical team with deep domain expertise in photocatalysis. The company was founded by researchers from the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.
● Several external trends support New Iridium’s innovation, including the increasing demand for sustainable and low-carbon chemicals. The global acetic acid market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8-7.6% to ~$29 billion by 2032.However, there are also some risks associated with New Iridium. These include:
● The company’s team is mostly academic, and they may lack the experience necessary to successfully commercialize their technology.
● New Iridium’s technology is novel and carries additional scaling risk. The company has only achieved lab scale so far.
● New Iridium has not yet engaged any potential customers.
Overall, New Iridium is a promising company with a game-changing technology that has the potential to disrupt the chemical industry. However, the company faces some challenges, including the need to scale its technology and secure customers.

More on Catalyxx

Catalyxx is a technology company that uses a proprietary catalyst to convert bio-based ethanol feedstock into various chemicals and fuels, including biobutanol, as a substitute for petroleum-derived chemicals. The company’s initial focus involves upscaling the conversion of bioethanol into longer-chain linear alcohols. These alcohols (C4-C10: n-butanol, n-biohexanol, n-biooctanol, and n-biodecanol) can be used to generate a plethora of everyday products, replacing petroleum-derived high-chain alcohols or as a diesel-blending component.
● Catalyxx’s process offers a potentially more sustainable and environmentally friendly way to produce these chemicals. The company’s technologies also reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions drastically (-3.5 kg CO2/kg product) and are fully protected with five international patents.
● The global market for bio-based chemicals is projected to grow significantly in the coming years, from 104.39 billion US dollars in 2024 to 197.56 billion US dollars by 2032. If Catalyxx can successfully commercialize its technology, it could tap into this growing market and become a leading provider of bio-based chemicals.
● Catalyxx was established in 2017 to convert bio-based feedstock into various chemicals and fuels as a substitute for petroleum. Its initial focus involves upscaling the conversion of bioethanol into longer-chain linear alcohols like n-biobutanol, n-biohexanol, n-biooctanol, and n-biodecanol, used in our everyday life.
● The company has already achieved a significant milestone by advancing its technology from concept to operation demonstration in a Demonstrator plant in 2023. The next step is to develop and build the First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) industrial plant.
● Catalyxx’s technology is protected by five families of patents filed internationally, totaling 65 patents. The company acquired all the patents and associated IP from Abengoa in June of 2024.
● To capitalize on its technology, Catalyxx aims to build and operate a First-of-a-Kind technology in partnership with a major chemical company. The partnership is already in place, and the engineering project has started, with a target launch date of the plant in 2026.After the plant is operational and reaches the target production scale, the company aims to license the technology to ethanol producers and chemical companies.

More on Låkril Technologies

Låkril Technologies, founded in 2021, is a start-up that produces bio-based acrylic acid and acrylate derivatives using renewable feedstocks, specifically corn-derived lactic acid.The company aims to provide sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based acrylic acid, which is a key chemical building block used in adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, textiles, plastics, paper and paperboard, and personal care products.
● Låkril Technologies’ process for producing bio-based acrylic acid is more sustainable and cost-effective than traditional methods, as the company’s catalyst achieves 90% yields of acrylics from lactic acid. This high yield allows bio-based acrylics to be cost-competitive with petroleum-based acrylics. Låkril Technologies’ catalyst has also been shown to be regenerable, which further reduces costs.
● The use of corn-derived lactic acid as a feedstock for Låkril Technologies’ process is particularly game-changing. Corn is a renewable resource, and the production of lactic acid from corn can be done in a sustainable way. Additionally, the cost of lactic acid has dropped significantly in recent years, making it a more cost-effective feedstock for producing acrylic acid.
● Låkril Technologies’ technology has the potential to disrupt the acrylic acid market and promote the use of sustainable chemicals. The global acrylic acid market is valued at $11 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4-6% between 2023-2032. If Låkril Technologies can capture a significant share of this market, it could have a major impact on the sustainability of the chemical industry.
● Låkril Technologies has a strong intellectual property position. The company has an exclusive license to a patent application covering the key catalyst formulation and the basic process of lactic-to-acrylic transformation.Låkril Technologies has also filed its own patent applications covering catalyst compositions, processes for using catalysts, processes and apparatuses for converting lactic feeds to acrylic products, and separation systems used for conversion processes.
● Låkril Technologies has a clear go-to-market strategy. The company plans to license its technology to acrylic acid producers and catalyst manufacturers. Låkril Technologies is also in discussions with potential customers in a variety of industries.
However, some risks are also associated with Låkril Technologies. These include:
● The company has yet to prove its process at a scale larger than 1 kg/day. Scaling up the production of acrylic acid from lactic acid could prove to be challenging.
● Competition in the bio-based acrylic acid market is increasing. Several large chemical companies are developing their own bio-based acrylic acid technologies.
● Låkril Technologies’ business model relies on a three-way partnership between an acrylic acid producer, a lactic acid producer, and itself. This could be a complex arrangement to manage.
Overall, Låkril Technologies is a promising company with game-changing technology that has the potential to disrupt the acrylic acid market and promote the use of sustainable chemicals. However, the company faces some challenges, including the need to scale its technology, compete with incumbent producers, and manage a complex business model.

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