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Celtic Renewables launches crowdfunding campaign

Celtic Renewables launches crowdfunding campaign
Celtic Renewables Grangemouth facility converts unwanted and low-value biological material into high-value renewable chemicals, sustainable biofuel, and other commercially and environmentally valuable products using Celtic Renewables’ patented low-carbon technology (photo courtesy Celtic Renewables).

Scottish technology-led producer of green chemicals, Celtic Renewables Ltd, has launched its latest crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube aiming to raise a minimum of £2.75 million to boost operational capacity and scale revenue growth.

Celtic Renewables is the first in the world to produce and supply green chemicals to lower the carbon footprint of thousands of products like cosmetics, paints, and household cleaners, and has recently sent its first production of bioacetone and biobutanol to distribution partner, Caldic, a company that creates bespoke solutions for the food, pharma, personal care, and industrial markets.

Celtic Renewables’ mission is to foster a more sustainable chemical industry and has so far raised more than £55 million in funding from multiple sources which was used to build the biorefinery in Grangemouth.

Plans for additional biorefineries

With large commercial contracts in place, Celtic Renewables is now raising investment to scale up production to meet demand.

Funds raised from the Crowdcube campaign will be used to increase the global distribution of green chemicals, broadening the reach of products across multiple sectors where the replacement of incumbent fossil-derived chemicals is most needed.

The ultimate goal of this crowdfunding campaign is to allow us to scale what we are doing which will allow us to supply green chemicals to a long list of potential customers who are ready and waiting. The timing is right and many companies and industries are eager to make the change to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, said CEO of Celtic Renewables.

Mark Simmers, CEO of Celtic Renewables (photo courtesy Celtic Renewables).

Celtic Renewables has plans to build a further four biorefineries in the next four to five years with a combined product output of around 32,000 tonnes per year.

Celtic Renewables makes its green chemicals at its flagship biorefinery in Grangemouth, Scotland.

Its patented technology converts low-value by-products, residues, and waste from a range of industries, such as food and drink production, into high-value green chemicals.

These green chemicals, namely bioacetone, biobutanol and bioethanol, are chemically identical to and can directly replace their gas and oil-derived equivalents – acetone, butanol, and ethanol.

Our technology offers a commercially proven and green alternative for the production of key chemicals and will lower the carbon footprint of everyday products like skin creams, nail varnish, household cleaning products, paints, medicines, and vitamins. We have the momentum and potential to accelerate the defossilization of the chemical industry and make everyday life more sustainable for consumers, said Mark Simmers.

Displace fossil counterparts and reduce emissions

According to the company, the conventional production of acetone, butanol, and ethanol contributes significantly to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the chemical sector, accounting for 18 percent of total industrial CO2 emissions globally.

Celtic Renewables’ production of bioacetone, biobutanol, and bioethanol generates up to 70 percent less carbon emissions compared to petrochemical alternatives.

We are working closely with our strategic partner Caldic to develop a list of initial customers for our green chemicals. The challenge is that the demand is huge and our Grangemouth plant will only supply a small fraction of what we really need to produce, so the pressure is on to grow the business and build bigger production plants, Mark Simmers said.

Expansive global market

Global markets for acetone and butanol are estimated at US$6.63 billion and US$16.5 billion respectively and growing, according to Future Market Insights.

We have been waiting for a solution like Celtic Renewables for a long time. We don’t need to change consumer habits but instead, we can improve the products we make by ensuring they are not derived from fossil fuels. This is the first real innovation that I have seen in the chemical space that is truly green, not just greenwashed. The beauty of the product is that the chemicals are made from residue materials, not food-competing crops. Our customers which include manufacturers of personal care and home care products, are very excited by this, remarked Bettina Brierley, Product Group Leader Caldic UK.

Celtic Renewables’ green chemicals have extensive applications spanning multiple industries and can completely displace petrochemical equivalents with an immediately addressable market of over US$2 billion.

The other great news is that the raw material that we use to make our biochemicals – the residues, by-products or waste – is almost unlimited. The key is to build the next few plants and demonstrate their performance. Our model is scalable globally across industry sectors. We will continue to look at commercial opportunities and there are some really interesting chemical groups that in the future, could also be made biologically, ended Mark Simmers.

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