The Netherlands-based bio-based start-up Vertoro b.v. has announced the closing of its latest funding round, which was led by SHIFT Invest and joined by Maersk Growth, as well as existing investors Brightlands Venture Partners (BVP) and LIOF. The funds will be used to further develop and commercialize Vertoro’s patented "Goldilocks" liquid lignin technology.
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Vertoro was founded in 2017 as a spin-off from Chemelot InSciTe and is based on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, in Geleen, the Netherlands.
It produces Goldilocks exclusively from sustainably sourced forestry and agricultural residues by means of a patented thermochemical process.
Like fossil oil, Goldilocks can be used as a platform for fuel, chemical, and material applications. It is already sold into markets as diverse as antioxidants and marine fuel.
Vertoro’s side stream is cellulose, which can be used to produce bio-based materials and chemicals, such as paper and ethanol, respectively.
Our goal is to offer competitive, sustainable products to cost and environmentally-conscious customers worldwide; a model inspired by no-frills disrupters in other industries that today are among the most profitable in their sector. This investment will bring us closer to reaching this goal in close cooperation with our committed team, our investors, and our partners, said Michael Boot, Co-Founder, and CEO at Vertoro.
Fund a marine biofuel demo plant
The funds of this round the value of which has not been disclosed will be primarily used to build a demo plant, which will become operational in 2022.
Brightlands Venture Partners (BVP) is an independent Dutch venture capital fund manager with a focus on renewable chemistry, agrifood, and health.
LIOF is the regional development company for Limburg and supports innovative entrepreneurs with advice, network, and financing.
We were early investors in Vertoro, and we are excited to see the demo plant being constructed and operated. The infrastructure and the Brightlands ecosystem provide Vertoro with a fast track to market; We are excited to continue our support for Vertoro, commented Patrick Claessen and Jeffrey Lutje Spelberg, investment managers at Brightlands Venture Partners and LIOF respectively.
SHIFT Invest is a Dutch venture capital fund that invests in innovations in food, agriculture, clean (bio-based) technologies, circularity, smart materials, energy transition, and mobility and logistics.
We are impressed by the Vertoro team and are glad we can support them in their next phase of growth. Vertoro’s process provides a means to unlock the potential of lignin in an economically viable way, offering a future-proof and sustainable platform product. This fits well within our fund’s objective to support bio-based technologies, and Koen Hooning from our team will join the Board of Vertoro, said Bram Ledeboer, Partner at SHIFT Invest.
The output of this demo plant will be used to develop a marine biofuel in partnership with Maersk as well as other Goldilocks applications for materials and chemicals markets.
Lignin fuels have a promising potential when it comes to decarbonizing shipping. We consider Vertoro to be a leading start-up in the sustainable biomass-to-liquids space and we are excited to invest in the company and become part of the efforts to effectively scale up production of green fuels. Furthermore, we believe that we can offer value beyond capital through the expertise and scale of the broader Maersk organization, said Peter Votkjaer Jorgensen, Partner at Maersk Growth, the venture capital arm of global container shipping major A.P. Møller-Maersk who will also join the Board of Vertoro.
