Level Nine

Level Nine (Level Nine Labs GmbH) is a Berlin-based nanotechnology and catalysis company developing a new class of catalysts it calls nanozymes, which are intended to combine the selectivity and precision of enzymes with the robustness of conventional industrial catalysts. The company positions the technology as a layer for fossil-free chemical value chains, converting locally abundant biobased feedstocks such as agricultural residues, industrial byproducts and waste streams into chemical building blocks that it claims can compete with petrochemicals on cost and performance. Stated catalyst attributes include high activity under mild conditions, enabling lower-cost processes, and modular, tunable structures that can be adapted to a specific feedstock, process or target molecule.

Alongside the catalysts themselves, Level Nine is building an end-to-end, machine-learning/AI-driven catalyst discovery platform used to identify and optimize new catalytic systems for high-yield conversion of complex biomass into drop-in chemical building blocks, with substantially lower energy requirements than conventional processes and compatibility with existing chemical manufacturing infrastructure. The company's first disclosed product is a drop-in compatible building block for polyurethane foams, targeted at automotive, construction, insulation, furniture and consumer goods applications; claimed properties include strength and flexibility meeting high-performance foaming requirements, structural (built-in) flame retardancy that removes the need for separate flame retardant additives, and sound absorbance suited to acoustic applications.

The team describes itself as scientists with backgrounds in origins of life, nanotechnology, bio-inspired catalysis and computational chemistry, and states it is female-founded with 75% of its board being women. It has access to laboratory facilities at the Center for Photovoltaics and Renewable Energies (ZPV). Level Nine Labs GmbH is registered at Johann-Hittorf-Strasse 8, 12489 Berlin, with the district court of Berlin Charlottenburg under HRB 250307, and Seadna Quigley and Emily Sheridan as managing directors.