Enabling the transition to fossil-free chemistry
We produce renewable chemical feedstocks
by processing wood residues in our biorefineries
Our story
Making renewable carbon available at scale
We believe that bio-based carbon plays an indispensable role in the transition to Net Zero. As today, huge amounts of crude oil are used as feedstock to produce our everyday products. We therefore founded Aurora Renewable Carbon with a clear mission: to supply the chemical industry with bio-based alternatives to crude oil feedstocks.
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We use pyrolysis to produce refined lignins, sugars and light phenolic products that can substitute oil derivatives, such as phenol and bisphenol A in resins. This allows our customers to develop truly circular and even negative-emission products.
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Founded as a spin-off from BTG Bioliquids, we build on more than three decades of pyrolysis technology expertise.
The Aurora Biorefineries
We operate the fast pyrolysis bio-oil production plant Empyro in Hengelo with a capacity of 20.000 tons per year. Next to Empyro we are developing a First-of-a-Kind refining unit to process the produced bio-oil. This facility, named Biorefinery Twente, will start operations in 2027 and, once operational, will prove the Aurora Biorefinery concept at industrial scale.
With Biorefinery Twente we upgrade the production capacity of our various biobased products to kilotons per year each.
Our technology
Biomass
We work with residues of second generation certified woody biomass, the most abundant source of natural carbon in the world
Fast Pyrolysis
Low-cost process to heat biomass without oxygen, cracking wood molecules and creating processable bio-oil
Fractionation
Fractionate pyrolysis oil into differentiated lignin & sugar fractions based on application and customer specifications
Our products
With our distinct approach to processing biomass we produce high performance natural carbon feedstocks for substituting fossil molecules, at cost-parity and with good scalability.
The main products from our biorefinery are pyrolytic lignin, sugar and light phenolics. Each have different potential applications.
Our highly reactive and pure lignin has proven to substitute phenol and bisphenol A in resin formulations. From insulation panels and coatings to composites and wood adhesives, we help industries accelerate the shift to fossil-free chemistry. This allows our clients to create circular, low-carbon products at competitive pricing and performance with fossil-based alternatives.
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Interested customers can request lignin, sugar and light phenolics samples via our contact form.
Unique advantages of Aurora lignin:
Scalable
Cost-competitive
(vs fossil alternative)
Pure
Reactive
Our commercial and technical partners
Our team
Edwin Noomen
Co-founder, CFO
Tijs Lammens
Technology lead
Bouke Hylkema
CEO
Ardy Toussaint
Technical Advisor
(BTG Bioliquids)
Hans Bevers
Co-founder, Sales & Business Development
Martin Risseeuw
Technical Advisor
(BTG Bioliquids)
Request a sample
Get in touch
We partner with businesses that want to make real progress in producing bio-based materials.
Interested in learning more? Our team is available to discuss opportunities.
Reach out to info@aurora-rc.com or through the contact form to receive more information,
and to request a sample of our products.
Contact form:
