Press release submitted on behalf of Pyran.
Pyran Inc., Madison, Wisconsin and New York, New York, a growing company that makes 1,5-pentanediol (PDO) – a critical ingredient that enhances the performance of everyday materials, such as paints, coatings, adhesives and more – continued its trajectory toward building a world-scale commercial plant for PDO after closing its latest round of fundraising, which included a $3 million investment from the lead investor, Kowa. Pyran’s Series B equity funding round raised over $5 million with investor support from Kowa and long-term investors such as the venture arm of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Arosa Capital.
“This strong investor support further fuels our ability to scale our technology and complete the necessary steps to begin operating a world-scale commercial plant with renewable feedstocks in 2027,” said Kevin Barnett, Pyran co-founder and chief technology officer.
Pyran CEO Mel Luetkens added: “This latest investment from Kowa reinforces our ability to expand our high-performance, cost-efficient products and technology portfolio. We are pleased that Kowa shares Pyran’s vision for the potential of bio-based, 1,5 PDO and contributing the resources needed for commercialization.”
With the latest fundraising round, the renewable chemicals company has completed its REACh registration in Europe, will complete its engineering design this month and has narrowed its site selection for its commercial plant. Pyran has already validated its technology on a demonstration scale and expanded sales of 1,5 PDO to select pre-approved customers. It is further looking to scale its technology using toll production until a commercial plant is operational in 2027.
“This investment allows us to expand our role in the bio-based specialty chemicals value chain, in which we have growing global market access, with a new product and opportunities for derivatives that have wide ranging impact on making everyday products more sustainable, and with a talented team with whom we have developed a very good working relationship,” said Satoshi Hata, Kowa Holdings America’s President.
Transforming and Scaling its Technology
To date, Pyran has raised approximately $12.5 million in total investments since its founding in 2018.
The company continues to transform and scale its technology into meaningful commercial solutions for several industries. It has produced tons of bio-based products and sells them to early customers to qualify them for bio-based products in their targeted markets and applications.
Pyran uses intermediates from renewable feedstocks, such as corn cobs, wood and sugarcane bagasse, to make 1,5 PDO, enhancing the performance of everyday products such as paints, coatings, adhesives and more. The company’s renewable 5-carbon products, including 1,5 PDO, replace expensive and supply-constrained petroleum-based chemicals.
For more information, visit www.pyranco.com.
