Soton firm Sonichem turning sawdust into green biochemicals hits £1.1m Seedrs target

With a week to go, the team at Sonichem (formerly Bio-Sep) have successfully hit a £1.1 million goal on crowdfunding platform Seedrs to help expand their cleantech operation.

The Southampton firm sources waste sawdust from sawmills and uses it as feedstock, breaking it down into sugars, cellulose and lignin.

Their scalable and eco-friendly process can convert £1 of sawdust into almost £8 of bio-chemicals – a sustainable substitute for petrochemicals in all manner of industrial processes.

Now, more than 200 backers have banded together to fund Sonichem’s next stage of growth, which will take place in three phases.

The company first plans to produce commercial samples and secure partners in a broad range of industries, including bioplastics, automotive and cosmetics.

Next, they’ll start generating revenue with the launch of their first commercial biorefinery plant, while demonstrating the scalability of the technology to future licensees and plant operators.

Finally, Sonichem will target international markets and diversify into other biomass feedstocks, such as waste from sugarcane and palm oil production.

“Sonichem’s strategy is not just to create a market presence, but to lead the way in biorefinery technology, providing sustainable, economical solutions on a global scale”, said a spokesperson for the company.

• sonichem.com

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