New Iridium Raises $2.65M in Seed Funding to Accelerate Sustainable Chemical Platform
DENVER, June 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New Iridium, a sustainable chemical innovation company pioneering low-carbon and clean chemistry technologies, today announced it has raised $2.65 million in seed financing. This funding builds on support from the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and ENERGYWERX Vouchers awarded through the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC).
The capital will be used to accelerate the development of New Iridium’s flagship low-cost and low-carbon platform technology and to advance the construction of an industrial pilot facility with a capacity of 50 metric tons per year (approximately 140 kilograms per day). This facility will validate process scalability for production of bio-based acetic acid and ethyl acetate, two essential chemical products that both recently received USDA BioPreferred® certification for 100% bio-based content underscoring New Iridium’s commitment to delivering sustainable, drop-in replacements for fossil-derived chemicals and supporting the broader transition to a low-carbon chemical industry.
Acetic acid ranks among the top ten highest-volume organic chemicals globally and, along with ethyl acetate, plays a critical role in a wide range of consumer and industrial applications including footwear, personal care products, paints, coatings, and adhesives. New Iridium’s innovative process utilizes domestically sourced bio-ethanol as a renewable feedstock, leveraging existing first-generation bioethanol infrastructure while advancing U.S. production of sustainable, bio-based chemicals. At the core of this technology is New Iridium’s highly efficient bio-ethanol oxidation process designed for low-cost and low-carbon operation. New Iridium’s bio-based products are intended as drop-in replacements for conventional fossil-derived chemicals, offering a scalable pathway to decarbonize critical segments of the chemical industry without compromising performance or reliability of supply.
The seed round was led by Radicle Growth, with strong ties to the U.S. corn and bio-ethanol industries, based on New Iridium being a finalist in the Corn Value Chain Challenge sponsored by U.S. corn farmers, with significant prior investment from CIRI Ventures, and participation from Evergreen Climate Innovations, and Climate Insiders.
“This funding accelerates our mission to build a scalable platform for producing low-cost, sustainable alternatives to fossil-based chemicals,” said Dr. Chern-Hooi Lim, Founder and CEO of New Iridium. “We are driving a new paradigm in chemical manufacturing—one ingrained in clean technology, domestic manufacturing resilience, and supply chain security. This investment marks a pivotal milestone as we take our first scale-up step toward full commercial production.”
"New Iridium’s unique technology leverages the U.S.’ massive corn and bio-ethanol production capacity to establish a platform for both low-cost and low-carbon chemical products," said Kirk Haney, Managing Partner at Radicle Growth. "They’re unlocking entirely new pathways to decarbonize everyday materials at industrial scale."
About New Iridium
Founded in 2020, New Iridium is a Colorado-based sustainable chemical innovation company developing a next-generation platform for low-carbon chemical manufacturing. By integrating thermal and photocatalytic technologies with bio-based feedstocks and captured CO₂, New Iridium’s platform efficiently transforms renewable inputs into high-value chemicals. The platform also supports modular and distributed manufacturing aligning with regional feedstock availability and renewable energy infrastructure—key enablers of resilient, localized supply chains. New Iridium’s flagship products include bio-based acetic acid, ethyl acetate, and related acetate esters, aimed at decarbonizing the acetyl value chain. The company is additionally advancing a pipeline of CO₂-derived building block chemicals such as acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate ester, and methoxyacetic acid, positioning itself at the forefront of sustainable chemical production.
Media Contact:
Brent Cutcliffe
brent@newiridium.com
(720) 314-1236
www.newiridium.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e4d2e263-e285-4dfd-b799-23ea46f18f5a
New Iridium’s flagship bio-based acetic acid and ethyl acetate products
Acetic acid and ethyl acetate are widely used in coatings, adhesives, packaging, textiles, and pharmaceuticals, representing global markets of approximately $15 billion and $5 billion, respectively. New Iridium’s bio-based versions serve as direct, drop-in replacements for their fossil-derived counterparts—enabling rapid decarbonization of these essential value chains without compromising performance or compatibility.
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