Amsterdam-based ChainCraft, announced that it has raised €11M in a fresh round of funding. The company develops and scales proprietary fermentation processes to produce biochemicals from organic waste, using an inventive fermentation method to replace fossil and palm oil-based compounds with circular chemicals made from food waste.
Founded in 2010 by Niels van Stralen, ChainCraft claims that biobased chemistry can be circular and cost-competitive. According to ChainCraft, it will use the funds to build a factory on an industrial scale and quicken expansion plans at its current demo facility in Amsterdam.
The company’s first product range, Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFA), can be used in a wide range of applications in animal feed, lubricants, plasticisers, polymers, coatings, and flavours and fragrances. The C6 fatty acid Caproic Acid, can serve as an important intermediate for a C6 chemistry platform.
ChainCraft recently announced a partnership with animal feed company Agrifirm for the purchase of circular fatty acids produced in the demo factory. The company says it will “soon reach other purchase agreements with partners in the chemical and animal feed industries, as well as for demonstration and large-scale facilities”.
Participants in the investment round included new investor Convent Capital, and existing investors Shift Invest, Horizon 3 and PDENH.
Convent Capital is a Dutch-based investment firm founded in 2011 that supports SMEs in the Benelux region. The firm’s new fund, Agro Food Growth Fund, offers growth financing to sustainable and creative businesses in the agriculture and food industries.
Founded in 2009, SHIFT Invest is a Dutch impact venture capital fund that invests in startups achieving a positive environmental impact and financial returns related to food & agriculture, green industries, energy transition, and sustainable mobility & logistics.
PDENH is an investment fund with €85M from the Province of North Holland. It makes investments in “cutting-edge” and sustainable businesses. The firm backs businesses and initiatives with a strong emphasis on the circular economy, sustainable transportation, and the energy transition. Business operations must be conducted in Noord-Holland in order for a PDENH investment to be considered, and PDENH investments must provide financial, economic, and social results.
