Låkril appoints new CEO, scales up its novel pathway to biochemical
Låkril Technologies has appointed Justin Brown as Chief Executive Officer to position the company to win licensing agreements within the global chemical industry. Supported in part by Minesota Corn, Låkril offers a groundbreaking process to produce bio-based acrylic acid, a key monomer used in such products as paints, coatings, adhesives, and superabsorbent polymers (diapers). This $12 billion industrial space could be a major new market for American corn.
Låkril was founded by Chris Nicholas and Paul Dauenhauer. Dauenhauer, a Professor of Chemical Engineering, made his breakthrough lab scale discovery of a novel catalyst for producing bio-based acrylic acid at the University of Minnesota Center for Sustainable Polymers, founded with the support of the National Science Foundation. Minnesota Corn, through the corn checkoff, has been a major supporter of research at the Center for Sustainable Polymers.
Brown describes himself as a third-generation engineer. Now in his 40s, Brown was born in Canada, but has made his career in Indonesia, Singapore, the North Sea and Houston, before joining Chicago-based Honeywell UOP— one of the world’s largest process licensors in the world for petrochemicals, refining, and natural gas.
It was there that he worked with Nicholas, Låkril’s Chief Technology Officer who is aggressively building out the company’s IP portfolio. As a “two-in-a-box” pair, Nicholas brought his scientific expertise together with Brown’s business knowledge and experience to develop Honeywell’s electrochemical energy storage strategy (think batteries).
Their work in technology licensing has primed them to grow Låkril, with its licensing business model, which they sell to manufacturers who will build the plants needed to make the bio-acrylic acid and “drop in” to existing product formulations. To assure the high purity of their process, Låkril would resupply the catalyst on an annual basis. They aim to demonstrate 99.6% purity on a continuous basis with their latest pilot plant.
The licensing model will allow a fast and efficient roll-out and create for Låkril a ‘first in the market’ position. Flexibility in the use of feedstock materials is a key to the strategy.
“Our feed stock is lactic acid,” Brown said. “We convert that bio-based sugar from lactic acid into bio-acrylic acid. So, we can localize our supply chains down to the specific country levels. For example, sugar cane in Thailand, sugar beets in Europe, and corn in the US.”
Låkril’s one-step process (compared to two steps for conventional acrylic acid) and industry leading yield enables the manufacturing of bio-acrylic acid they need, at price parity, and at much smaller regional-based facilities than a typical petroleum based chemical plant.
“There’s no price premium for choosing this green alternative, and that makes it an easy choice,” Brown said. Låkril’s process is estimated to offer an 80 percent plus reduction in greenhouse gases, compared to conventional acrylic acid manufacturing.
“There’s a large amount of demand, a large pull in the market for everything you can think of connected to LEED: paints, coatings, adhesives, and other materials,” Brown added. (LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a is a voluntary green building rating system that’s a major driver in the American construction industry.)
Chemical and Engineering News named Låkril one of its Top 10 Startups To Watch late last year, noting that the leading companies in this market niche, like Cargill and Dow, have sought a renewable-based feedstock for two decades, but have not succeeded in this quest.
“We are honored to be chosen for the Top 10 Startups To Watch,” Brown said. “Being named to the Startup to Watch list is a major accolade.”
One of Låkril’s initial investors is Thailand-based GC Chemical. It owns a European-based paint company in Europe called allnex, which plans to use a bio-based acrylic acid in its formulations. Låkril will send its first commercial sample to allnex later this month. Brown said Låkril has signed an NDA with a major European manufacturer considering use of bio-acrylic acid in its processing. It has also opened a data room for investors who want to take part in Låkril’s Series A funding round.
Learn more about Låkril at www.lakril.com.
