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Draft:Bloom Biorenewables

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Bloom Biorenewables Sarl (also known as Bloom) is a start-up company founded in 2019 in Fribourg, Switzerland.[1] It is a spin-off company from the école polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and is a chemical company developing biorefining technology and selling bio-based products derived from biomass.[2] The company relies on an organsolv fractionation process called aldehyde assisted fractionation (AAF). The main products of the company are lignin, lignin derivatives, functionalised hemicellulose, and cellulose.[2] Bloom has raised over 4M€ in capital to date with support from global investment funds, such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Extantia. It collaborates with large multinational corporations such as DSM-Firmenich, Soprema, and Amcor.[3][4][5][6][7]

Bloom Biorenewables SARL
Company type Sarl
Industry Chemistry
Founded 29.01.2019
Founders Prof Jeremy Luterbacher, Dr Florent Héroguel, Dr Remy Buser
Headquarters Fribourg, Switzerland
Website bloombiorenewables.com
CEO Dr Florent Héroguel

Dr Remy Buser

Slogan "The Future is not. We design it."

Technology and Products

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Bloom Biorenewables develops a type of biorefinery aiming at deconstruction biomass into its three main components: lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose. The technology relies on an aldehyde assisted fractionation (AAF) technology developed in 2015 in the laboratory of Prof. Dr Jeremy Luterbacher at école polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).[8][9] This low temperature process uses aldehydes as protecting agents to stabilise reactive moities inside biomass, such as lignin and hemicellulose, and thus circumvents common side reactions typically encountered during biomass fractionation.[8][10] This organsolv process differs from traditional pulp and paper processes in that it (i) aims to use all fractions contained within biomass for chemical or material uses, (ii) works in organic solvents and not in aqueous media, (iii) does not use sulfur or sulfur containing compounds in its process, and (iv) delivers a different quality and type of lignin and cellulose. The raw materials used by Bloom range from woody biomass, to hazelnut shells,[11] or corn cobs.[12] The key products Bloom produces from these feedstocks include lignin-based aromatic molecules for the fragrance & flavour and fine chemistry sector, as well as a sugar-based solvent and bio-plastic.[13][14][15]

Funding and Projects

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Bloom has closed two funding rounds up to date: a pre-Seed financing round of 0.5M € closed in, and a Seed financing round of 3.9M € in 2020.[16][17][18]

Bloom's key projects include nationally funded ones, such as the InnoSuisse projects "Towards efficient biorefining - meeting market demand for high-value bio-based products" and "PAX: a family of bio-based polyesters".[19][2] EU-funded projects such as the Horizon 2020 funded "IdealFuel" consortium[20][21] or the Circular Bio-based Economy Joint-Undertaking funded "Countless" project,[22][23] both projects developing lignin materials for various applications. The company has also participitated in exploratory research in the biomedical field through a collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute for Materialscience and Technology (EMPA).[24]

Awards, Prizes, and Distinctions

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The company has won numerous awards including Venture Kick Switzerland, the HEIG-VD Ethics Prize 2022,[25] the Prix Sud Sustainable Startup 2023 award of Le Temps,[26] the Swiss Technology Award 2021,[27] the Sustainable Economy Award of the canton of Fribourg 2020/2021,[28] and has been named 6th best Swiss start-up in 2023.[29] Bloom was also featured on the New York Times Square as part of the Norrsken Impact 100 list, and obtained the "Efficient Solution" label from the Solar Impulse Foundation.[30][31] Bloom has also presented on prestigious platforms such as TedX[32][33] and has pitched its ideas to the French and Swiss presidents.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "eSHAB". sogc.ch. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  2. ^ a b c "Bloom Biorenewables: The future is not. We design it". www.bloombiorenewables.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  3. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables raises EUR 3.9 million in Seed funding". www.venturekick.ch. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  4. ^ "Deal Ticker: Bloom Biorenewables teams up with DSM-Firmenich". kellerhals-carrard.ch. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  5. ^ "Amcor reveals Lift-Off seed capital winners with investments that seek to "drive the revolution in packaging"". www.amcor.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  6. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables franchit un nouveau jalon, avec le français Soprema - Le Temps" (in French). 2024-02-05. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  7. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables fait équipe avec DSM-Firmenich - Le Temps" (in French). 2023-09-08. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  8. ^ a b Shuai, Li; Amiri, Masoud Talebi; Questell-Santiago, Ydna M.; Héroguel, Florent; Li, Yanding; Kim, Hoon; Meilan, Richard; Chapple, Clint; Ralph, John; Luterbacher, Jeremy S. (2016-10-21). "Formaldehyde stabilization facilitates lignin monomer production during biomass depolymerization". Science. 354 (6310): 329–333. Bibcode:2016Sci...354..329S. doi:10.1126/science.aaf7810. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 27846566.
  9. ^ Behaghel de Bueren, Jean; Héroguel, Florent; Wegmann, Chloé; Dick, Graham R.; Buser, Raymond; Luterbacher, Jeremy S. (2020-11-16). "Aldehyde-Assisted Fractionation Enhances Lignin Valorization in Endocarp Waste Biomass". ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 8 (45): 16737–16745. doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c03360. ISSN 2168-0485. S2CID 228827772.
  10. ^ Talebi Amiri, Masoud; Dick, Graham R.; Questell-Santiago, Ydna M.; Luterbacher, Jeremy S. (March 2019). "Fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass to produce uncondensed aldehyde-stabilized lignin". Nature Protocols. 14 (3): 921–954. doi:10.1038/s41596-018-0121-7. ISSN 1750-2799. PMID 30778206.
  11. ^ foodnavigator.com (2021-02-19). "Closing the loop in chocolate: Barry Callebaut collaborates on 'ground-breaking' process to turn hazelnut shells into vanillin". foodnavigator.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  12. ^ Manker, Lorenz P.; Dick, Graham R.; Demongeot, Adrien; Hedou, Maxime A.; Rayroud, Christèle; Rambert, Thibault; Jones, Marie J.; Sulaeva, Irina; Vieli, Mariella; Leterrier, Yves; Potthast, Antje; Maréchal, François; Michaud, Véronique; Klok, Harm-Anton; Luterbacher, Jeremy S. (September 2022). "Sustainable polyesters via direct functionalization of lignocellulosic sugars". Nature Chemistry. 14 (9): 976–984. Bibcode:2022NatCh..14..976M. doi:10.1038/s41557-022-00974-5. ISSN 1755-4349. PMID 35739426.
  13. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables". theindexproject.org. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  14. ^ Komarova, Anastasia O.; Dick, Graham R.; Luterbacher, Jeremy S. (2021-07-05). "Diformylxylose as a new polar aprotic solvent produced from renewable biomass". Green Chemistry. 23 (13): 4790–4799. doi:10.1039/D1GC00641J. ISSN 1463-9270.
  15. ^ Bloom Biorenewables develops biomass-based plastics, 22 February 2021, retrieved 2024-02-01
  16. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables raises EUR 3.9 million in Seed funding". www.venturekick.ch. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  17. ^ "Bill Gates' investment fund invests in Bloom Biorenewables". www.startupticker.ch. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  18. ^ "Bloom Biorenewables completes €2.9 million seed round". www.startupticker.ch. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  19. ^ "Innosuisse Discover 2021 - "We have already been able to convince a number of investors"". discover-innosuisse.ch. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  20. ^ "Lignin as a feedstock for renewable marine fuels | IDEALFUEL Project | Fact Sheet | H2020". CORDIS | European Commission. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  21. ^ "Homepage". IDEALFUEL. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  22. ^ "COUNTLESS readies lignin-based platform chemicals for the market". www.braskem.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  23. ^ "COUNTLESS". Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  24. ^ "Swiss Wood Innovation Network S-WIN on LinkedIn: #internationalertagdeswaldes #innovationen #nachhaltigkeit #holzforschung…". de.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  25. ^ "Développement durable: quatre projets primés par le Prix suisse de l'éthique à Yverdon". Développement durable: quatre projets primés par le Prix suisse de l’éthique à Yverdon (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  26. ^ "Prix SUD". events.letemps.ch (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  27. ^ "Swiss Innovation Forum". Swiss Innovation Forum. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  28. ^ Bloom Biorenewables - Winner Fribourg Sustainability Award 2020/2021, 17 May 2021, retrieved 2024-02-01
  29. ^ "TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards - World Shapers of Tomorrow". www.top100startups.swiss. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
  30. ^ "Impact/100 l 100 ways to fix the future". www.norrsken.org. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  31. ^ Impulse, Solar. "Bloom Biorenewables - Solar Impulse Efficient Solution". solarimpulse.com. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  32. ^ How plants will make fossil fuels history | Florent Heroguel | TEDxHSG. Retrieved 2024-04-18 – via www.youtube.com.
  33. ^ Petrochemicals – the dark side of the moon | Remy Buser | TEDxHochschuleLuzern. Retrieved 2024-04-18 – via www.youtube.com.
  34. ^ "En route pour visiter le CERN, Emmanuel Macron à l'écoute des start-up - Le Temps" (in French). 2023-11-15. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
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