Oxford spinout HydRegen secures £2.6m to revolutionize sustainable chemical manufacturing

Oxford spinout HydRegen secures £2.6m to revolutionize sustainable chemical manufacturing

Biotechnology company HydRegen has secured £2.6m in its latest fundraising round, led by Clean Growth Fund, to commercialize its sustainable technologies for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

The company spun out of the University of Oxford in 2021, and the science behind HydRegen is grounded in more than 10 years of fundamental and applied research in Prof Kylie Vincent’s research group.

Dr Sarah Cleary and Dr Holly Reeve, CSO and CEO of HydRegen

Dr Sarah Cleary (L) and Dr Holly Reeve, CSO and CEO of HydRegen.

Dr Holly Reeve (CEO), Dr Sarah Cleary (Chief Scientific Officer), and their team have been working on pioneering bio-based catalysts that enable cleaner, safer, and more energy-efficient manufacturing processes.

"The HydRegen Team are hugely excited to embark on the next stage of our journey and to add Clean Growth Fund’s considerable expertise in cleantech to our commercial strategy," said Dr Holly Reeve, CEO of HydRegen. "This funding will speed up development of our greener and less wasteful bio-based manufacturing technologies, allowing us to help chemical companies to reduce their environmental impact and carbon footprint, whilst also reducing their costs."

The company aims to replace toxic metal catalysts with environmentally and economically friendly bio-based alternatives, which could save millions of tonnes of CO2e per year if widely adopted. HydRegen plans to license its technology to companies manufacturing pharmaceutical and chemical products around the world, with the aim of becoming part of the "advanced manufacturing tool-box" across the global chemical manufacturing industry.

According to Dr Jonathan Tudor, Investment Partner at Clean Growth Fund, HydRegen has the potential to “revolutionize and decarbonize the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors … and we are understandably excited about the company’s future." He believes that “HydRegen is in Clean Growth Fund’s investment sweet spot: a proven clean-technology – originated in the UK, with huge potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The new investment from Clean Growth Fund, alongside a group of existing investors, will support the commercial development and deployment of HydRegen’s technologies through the next 18 months. HydRegen plans to license its technology to companies manufacturing pharmaceutical and chemical products around the world, and to expand its team over the next 12 months.