Business Roundup

Zeta Energy, a Texas‑based start-up that makes lithium­sulfur batteries, has raised $23 million in series A funding. Zeta will use the money to expand its laboratories in Houston and accelerate the commercialization of its technology.

Kaneka is moving forward with plans to expand capacity for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), a biodegradable polymer, by 15,000 metric tons per year at its site in Takasago, Japan. The expansion will cost about $130 million and be completed in 2024.

Kemira has started full-scale production of polyacrylamide, a water-soluble polymer used in the water and energy industries, made mostly from biobased materials. Kemira says its biomass-balanced approach will be more sustainable than typical production methods.

Croda and Xampla are working together to make biodegradable materials for coatings that protect seeds from pests and disease and increase germination. The coatings are intended to replace synthetic polymers that don’t degrade.

Circa Group has received a $9.4 million grant from the French government to continue building a plant in eastern France that will use local biomass to make sustainable solvents. The plant is expected to produce 1,000 metric tons per year of dihydrolevoglucosenone, which Circa sells under the brand name Cyrene.

Amgen and Plexium have formed a pact to develop targeted protein degrader drugs. The firms say they will expand opportunities for the small-molecule class by discovering previously unrecognized molecular glues or monovalent degraders.

Dewpoint Therapeutics has raised $150 million in series C financing from multiple investors. The Boston-based firm was formed in 2019 to translate understanding of biomolecular condensates—membraneless organelles that exist in cells—into therapies.