Pyran to build commercial bio-based 1,5-pentanediol plant

Pyran continues to move toward its goal of building a world-scale commercial 1,5-pentanediol (PDO) plant after completing its latest round of financing. Pyran's Series B equity financing raised more than $5 million, including $3 million from Kowa and long-term investors such as the venture capital arm of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Arosa Capital.

Kevin Barnett, Co-founder and CTO of Pyran, said: "The strong support from investors further enhances our ability to scale up our technology and complete the necessary steps to begin operating a world-scale commercial plant using renewable feedstocks in 2027."

"Kowa's latest investment strengthens our ability to expand our portfolio of high-performance, cost-effective products and technologies," said Mel Luetkens, CEO of Pyran. "We are pleased that Kowa shares Pyran's vision for the potential of bio-based 1,5 PDO and has contributed the resources required for commercialization."

With the latest round of funding, the renewable chemicals company has completed REACh registration in Europe. The company will complete engineering design this month and has narrowed down the site selection for the commercial plant. Pyran has validated its technology at demonstration scale and has expanded sales of 1,5 PDO to selected pre-approved customers. The company is further looking to scale up its technology through toll manufacturing until the commercial plant is operational in 2027.

“This investment enables us to expand our role in the bio-based specialty chemicals value chain, where we have growing global market access, new product and derivative opportunities that have broad impact on making everyday products more sustainable, and a talented team with whom we have a very good working relationship,” said Satoshi Hata, president of Kowa Holdings America.

To date, Pyran has raised approximately $12.5 million in total investment since 2018. The company continues to translate its technology into meaningful commercial solutions across multiple industries. It has already produced a significant number of bio-based products and sold them to early customers to qualify them for bio-based products in target markets and applications.

Pyran uses intermediates from renewable feedstocks such as corncobs, wood and bagasse to make 1,5 PDO, which enhances the performance of everyday products such as paints, coatings, adhesives, etc. The company’s renewable 5-carbon products, including 1,5 PDO, replace expensive and supply-constrained petroleum-based chemicals.