Virdia

Virdia, initially incorporated as HCL CleanTech in 2007, was a developer focused on converting lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars and lignin. The company's technology was originally developed in Israel, and it was later incorporated in the United States in 2009. In 2012, the company rebranded to Virdia, appointed Philippe Lavielle as its new CEO, and secured $30 million in financing to advance its commercialization phase. A significant milestone was the acquisition of Virdia by Stora Enso in June 2014 for an upfront payment of approximately $33 million, with potential for an additional $29 million based on performance milestones.

Virdia's core business revolved around its proprietary CASE (Clean Acid-Solvent Extraction) process, a form of hydrochloric acid hydrolysis, to break down cellulosic biomass from sources like wood, agricultural residues, and energy crops. This process was designed to be cost-competitive and yielded high-purity sugars and lignin. The resulting cellulosic sugars were positioned as a feedstock for a variety of markets, including the production of renewable fuels, biochemicals, plastics, and nutritional additives for animal feed. The company's business model was to act as a supplier of these intermediate materials to other companies for downstream processing, rather than creating the final consumer products itself. Virdia operated a pilot facility in Danville, Virginia, and had plans for a commercial-scale plant in Mississippi.

The client base for Virdia's products included biorefining companies and biofuel startups, such as LS9 and Virent Energy, that required high-quality, non-food-competing sugars for their production processes. The company had raised a total of $136 million from investors including Khosla Ventures, Burrill & Co., Tamar Ventures, and TriplePoint Capital before its acquisition. In January 2021, Stora Enso announced the decision to close down all of Virdia's U.S. operations, including its research center and demo plant, as part of a strategic shift to focus on applications further down the value chain rather than raw material supply. While the operations ceased, the intellectual property developed by Virdia was retained by Stora Enso for future applications.

Keywords: cellulosic sugars, lignin production, biomass conversion, acid hydrolysis, renewable chemicals, biorefining feedstock, HCL CleanTech, Stora Enso acquisition, biochemicals, biofuels, agricultural residue processing, wood to sugar, sustainable materials, industrial biotechnology, cleantech, biomass extraction, renewable intermediates, specialty chemicals, green chemistry, CASE process