New Iridium, a sustainable chemical innovation company pioneering low-carbon and clean chemistry technologies, announced it has raised $2.65 million in seed financing. This funding round builds on support from the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and ENERGYWERX Vouchers awarded through the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC).
Acetic acid: Acetic acid ranks among the top ten highest-volume organic chemicals globally and, along with ethyl acetate, plays a significant role in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications, including footwear, personal care products, paints, coatings, and adhesives. New Iridium’s innovative process utilizes domestically sourced bio-ethanol as a renewable feedstock, utilizing existing first-generation bioethanol infrastructure while advancing U.S. production of sustainable and bio-based chemicals.
At the center of this technology is New Iridium’s highly efficient bio-ethanol oxidation process designed for low-cost and low-carbon operation. New Iridium’s bio-based products are intended as drop-in replacements for conventional fossil-derived chemicals, offering a scalable pathway to decarbonize critical segments of the chemical industry without compromising the performance or reliability of supply.
How the funding will be used: The funding will be used to accelerate the development of New Iridium’s flagship low-cost and low-carbon platform technology and to advance the construction of an industrial pilot facility with a capacity of 50 metric tons per year (approximately 140 kilograms per day). And this facility will validate process scalability for the production of bio-based acetic acid and ethyl acetate, two essential chemical products that both recently received USDA BioPreferred certification for 100% bio-based content, highlighting New Iridium’s commitment to delivering sustainable, drop-in replacements for fossil-derived chemicals and supporting the broader transition to a low-carbon chemical industry.
The seed funding round was led by Radicle Growth, with strong ties to the U.S. corn and bio-ethanol industries, based on New Iridium being a finalist in the Corn Value Chain Challenge sponsored by U.S. corn farmers, with significant prior investment from CIRI Ventures, and participation from Evergreen Climate Innovations and Climate Insiders.
KEY QUOTES:
“This funding accelerates our mission to build a scalable platform for producing low-cost, sustainable alternatives to fossil-based chemicals. We are driving a new paradigm in chemical manufacturing—one ingrained in clean technology, domestic manufacturing resilience, and supply chain security. This investment marks a pivotal milestone as we take our first scale-up step toward full commercial production.”
Dr. Chern-Hooi Lim, Founder and CEO of New Iridium
“New Iridium’s unique technology leverages the U.S.’ massive corn and bio-ethanol production capacity to establish a platform for both low-cost and low-carbon chemical products. They’re unlocking entirely new pathways to decarbonize everyday materials at industrial scale.”
Kirk Haney, Managing Partner at Radicle Growth
