From sugar to shoe soles: Dutch-based Mevaldi secures funding to develop bio-based ‘green’ chemicals

Dutch biotech company Mevaldi has secured funding to scale its operations and move its bio-based products toward commercialisation.

Geleen-based Mevaldi, a Dutch biotech company, announced that it has secured fresh funding from High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and ICIG Ventures, the venture capital unit of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG).

Dr Pelin Yilmaz, investment director at ICIG Ventures, says, “We see great potential in Mevaldi’s technology to shape the future of sustainable chemistry. Their approach to bio-based chemical building blocks fits perfectly with our long-term vision: investing in promising and impactful innovations that contribute to a circular economy.”

The funds will help Mevaldi expand its technology and advance efforts toward a circular European chemical sector.

Producers of new age bio-based “green” chemicals

Fouded in 2020 by Erik Rutten, Mevaldi is a company that works in the field of biotechnology. Its main focus is to develop and produce “building blocks” that are used to make polymers, polyesters, and polyurethanes. These building blocks are not made from fossil fuels like oil or gas, but from renewable sources such as sugars and wood residues.

The company’s key product is called 3MPD. This is a specific type of molecule that can be used as a starting material in the production of many everyday products. 

For instance, it can be used in the manufacture of coatings (protective layers on surfaces), adhesives (glues), elastomers (flexible plastics), shoe soles, and insulation materials used in construction.

To create 3MPD, Mevaldi uses a patented bio-thermochemical process. This process combines biological and thermal (heat-based) methods to turn sugars and sawdust into a usable chemical building block. Unlike traditional production methods, which often depend on imported fossil fuels, Mevaldi’s process relies on renewable raw materials and operates entirely within Europe.

This approach reduces dependence on non-European suppliers and helps keep production within Europe, supporting local industry. It also contributes to the European Union’s plans for a circular economy by reusing resources and reducing waste. In addition, it supports climate targets by replacing fossil-based chemicals with renewable alternatives. 

In short, Mevaldi provides a way to produce chemical building blocks from renewable sources using a process that fits within European supply chains and environmental goals.

Capital utilisation

Mevaldi has secured funding after receiving an EU grant from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) programme. 

The company will use the investment to scale production from pilot to demonstration level and to commercialise its flagship product Pentonext, used in polyesters and polyurethanes for textiles and elastomers, among other things.

Roger Ottenheym, CEO of Mevaldi, says, “We are delighted to welcome HTGF and ICIG Ventures as strategic investors. Their deep expertise in scaling up and focus on sustainability make them ideal partners in our next step to market – on sugar soles.”

Dr. Lena-Sophie Schütter, Investment Manager at HTGF, adds, “Mevaldi’s technology presents a promising approach for the production of sustainable materials. With successful scaling, their platform could contribute meaningfully to the advancement of bio-based chemistry. We are proud and happy to be able to contribute to this promising development at this early stage.”

Brief about the investors

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is an early-stage investor active in Germany and Europe. The fund finances startups in Deep Tech, Industrial Tech, Climate Tech, Digital Tech, Life Sciences, and Chemistry. It invests in pre-seed and seed phases and can take part in later-stage financing rounds. 

Since 2005, HTGF has financed more than 780 startups and completed nearly 200 exits. The fund has a volume of over €2B and operates as a public-private partnership with investors including the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, KfW Capital, and 45 companies and family offices.

International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) is a privately owned industrial group with operations in specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The group has a turnover of more than €4.6B. ICIG operates more than 50 production sites in Europe, the US, and India. 

Its business platforms include Fine Chemicals (WeylChem), Care Chemicals (Catexel), Chlorovinyls (Vynova), Compounds (Benvic), Hydrocarbons & Solvents (HCS Group), and Superabsorbents (Stockhausen Superabsorber), along with enterprises in industrial drying services, fermentation products, viscose filaments, activated carbon, and wood protection chemicals. 

ICIG Ventures, the group’s venture capital arm, invests in innovations in industrial biotechnology, chemistry, and materials.