Sustainable chemistry spinout Lixea has developed what it coins a highly efficient process to produce fundamental chemicals from biomass sources.

Lixea’s patented Dendronic® technology, initially developed at Imperial College London, in the UK and piloted in Sweden, breaks down lignocellulosic biomass into chemical building blocks in an environmentally friendly and low-cost way. The remain cellulose, of which, can then be made into textile garments.

The aim is to enable the replacement of fossil materials with biobased alternatives in applications where it has not yet been possible, so to advance the transition to a bio-based economy. The world, according to Lixea, is dependent on materials derived from unsustainable and non-renewable fossil sources. And as the energy sector looks to pivot away from fossil raw materials, the company said materials must do the same.

Research from Lixea has found that every year over one billion tonnes of plant, agricultural and wood waste are discarded or burnt worldwide, and as such the company has identified potential for material production.  

The problem, the company said: “Is that to date, there has not been a technological solution for cost-efficient processing of that raw material into useful