Solugen

Solugen is a chemical manufacturer that produces industrial chemical products using its Bioforge process platform rather than conventional petrochemical routes. The Bioforge combines a cell-free enzymatic oxidation reactor, into which sustainable feedstocks are fed, with engineered metal catalysts that convert the intermediate material into a near-final product. The company states the catalytic step operates with higher selectivity and conversion and at lower temperatures than traditional processes, and that downstream processing is limited to an evaporator to remove water and a crystallizer to produce a solid final product, yielding one ton of product per ton of feedstock.

The company positions the Bioforge as modular, able to be built in varied locations at speed and scale to decentralize manufacturing and support local supply chains. Solugen markets solutions to oil and gas operations, renewable fuels producers (feedstock quality, yield improvement and operating cost reduction), and aerospace and defense customers, where it frames its offering around supply chain resilience and American-made production. It also works on applications in care chemicals and industrial water treatment through partner evaluations.

Business model

Solugen manufactures and supplies chemical products to industrial customers, working directly with them on application development and sample requests, and expanding capacity through partnerships with established industrial companies.

Latest developments

In October 2023 Solugen announced a biomanufacturing facility in the U.S. Midwest through a partnership with ADM and an agreement with Sasol Chemicals to evaluate sustainable ingredients in care chemicals. In July 2024 it announced a collaboration with Kurita America to develop carbon-negative products for industrial water treatment.