What Spero Renewables does

Spero Renewables is a green chemistry company founded in 2018 by Dr. Mahdi Abu-Omar that develops proprietary technologies converting plant-based biomass into renewable replacements for petrochemical-derived materials. It operates from a 3,725 square foot facility in Goleta, California, two miles from UC Santa Barbara, housing a team of roughly 1–10 engineers and scientists with backgrounds in chemical engineering, organic chemistry, and materials science. The company serves B2B customers in the automotive, aerospace, wind turbine, and sporting goods industries that are seeking weight reduction, sustainability, and end-of-life recyclability for composite components, particularly those built on carbon fiber-reinforced polymers.

The company's technical platform is built on a patented reactive extraction and separations process and is expressed through two branded offerings. SPERLU™ converts lignin — a waste byproduct of cellulosic ethanol production that is expensive to remediate — into renewable chemical building blocks and biophenols. SperoSet™ uses those biophenols (or alternatively petroleum-derived feedstocks) to produce patent-pending, fully recyclable thermoset polymers with chemically reversible bonds that enable degradation, recycling with retention of original properties, and weldability/repairability. The thermosets are positioned to compete with conventional BPA-based epoxies on thermomechanical properties and cost, with the additional advantage of enabling zero-waste manufacturing and carbon fiber recovery and reuse.

Commercially, Spero operates an enterprise B2B technology licensing and direct sales motion targeting composite manufacturers, OEMs, and tier suppliers globally. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based for licensing arrangements. To date, the company has not disclosed commercial revenue; its funding has come from non-dilutive sources, including a $1.6 million EERE grant in 2021 to scale SPERLU, a $2 million DOE project (led by Dr. Shou Zhao) on degradable and recyclable carbon fiber-reinforced composites, and selection into the Shell GameChanger program in November 2025 to validate SPERLU and explore cross-industry applications. The company is presently transitioning from a research-oriented startup toward commercialization.

Name

Spero Renewables

Legal name

Spero Renewables LLC

Website

https://sperorenewables.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spero Renewables is a green chemistry startup developing proprietary SPERLU™ and SperoSet™ technologies that convert plant-based biomass lignin into renewable polymers and recyclable thermosets for manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, wind turbine, and sporting goods sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bio-based Polymers

NAICS

Cyclic Crude, Intermediate, and Gum and Wood Chemical Manufacturing (325194)

SIC

Industrial Organic Chemicals (2860)

akta.pro primary industry

Bio-Based & Biodegradable Compounds (PLA/PHA/Starch Blends) (IMANABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Bio-based Solvents & Process Chemicals (e.g., bio-acetone, bio-butanol, bio-IPA, green solvents) (EUAAAIAB)

Keywords

• Green chemistry
• Lignin valorization
• Recyclable thermosets
• Biomass conversion
• Bio-based polymers

Headquarters

HQ city

Thousand Oaks

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: Licensing of proprietary technologies (SperoSet™ and SPERLU™) to manufacturers in target industries including automotive, aerospace, and wind turbine sectors.
2. Renewable Polymer and Plastic Products: Sale of bio-based thermoset polymers and plastics produced through SPERLU technology for use in composite materials manufacturing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Spero Renewables develops and licenses proprietary green chemistry technologies that convert plant-based biomass into renewable polymers, plastics, and chemical building blocks as alternatives to petrochemical-derived products. Its two flagship offerings are SPERLU™, which converts lignin waste into biophenols and renewable polymers, and SperoSET™, a patent-pending recyclable thermoset platform with chemically reversible bonds that competes with conventional BPA epoxies. The company serves manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, wind turbine, and sporting goods industries through direct B2B licensing and supply arrangements.

Product overview

Spero Renewables offers two interconnected proprietary technologies for converting plant-based biomass into sustainable materials: SPERLU™ serves as the foundational renewable thermoset technology that converts lignin waste into biophenols, while SperoSET™ utilizes these biophenols to produce fully recyclable thermoset polymers. Both technologies work together to replace petroleum-based products with renewable alternatives for automotive, aerospace, wind turbine, and sporting goods applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SperoSET™: Patent-pending recyclable thermoset technology that produces fully recyclable thermoset polymers based on renewable biophenols. Provides thermomechanical properties similar to conventional BPA epoxies with the added benefit of recyclability.
• SPERLU™

Products and services

• SperoSET™ Recyclable Thermosets

Quantifiable outcome

• Carbon fiber can be recycled without damage, enabling reuse of expensive carbon fiber components
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Shell GameChangercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 November 2025Spero Renewables was selected for Shell's GameChanger program to develop its proprietary SPERLU technology, which converts lignin into renewable chemical building blocks. The collaboration aims to explore new biomass conversion pathways for sustainable materials and support validation and potential applications of Spero's technology across industries. Shell's ongoing investment in innovative renewable energy solutions highlights the strategic importance of this partnership.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Origin Materials: Public bio-based chemicals company converting biomass feedstocks into renewable monomers and intermediates for packaging and polymers. Highly comparable to Spero's biomass-to-chemical platform, though at materially greater scale and capital intensity.
• Renmatix: Developer of supercritical water-based biomass fractionation technology that converts plant biomass into cellulosic sugars, lignin, and other intermediates. Directly comparable in the biomass conversion / lignin valorization space.
• Newlight Technologies: Producer of PHACT-based bioplastics made from greenhouse gas-derived polymers, competing in the bio-based plastics space. Comparable as a renewable-polymer alternative to petroleum-derived materials.
• Bloom Biorenewables: Early-stage green chemistry company developing plant-based alternatives to petrochemicals using proprietary biomass conversion chemistry. Closely mirrors Spero's biomass-to-renewable-chemicals positioning and pre-commercial stage.
• Anellotech: Biomass conversion company producing renewable aromatics (BTX) from non-food biomass feedstocks. Comparable as a bio-based chemicals platform with similar feedstock-to-chemical positioning.
• Virent: Biomass conversion company producing bio-based aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons (BioForming) for fuels and chemicals. Highly comparable in converting biomass to drop-in renewable chemicals at commercial scale (now a Shell subsidiary — directly relevant to the Shell GameChanger partnership).

Broad incumbents

• Bolt Threads: Biomaterials company producing bio-based proteins and fibers for cosmetics, apparel, and materials. Comparable as a broader bio-based materials platform applying fermentation and green chemistry to displace petrochemical inputs.
• Hexion: Large global producer of epoxy resins, adhesives, and specialty chemicals including thermoset systems used in composites, coatings, and electronics. Represents the established incumbent SperoSet competes against in thermoset markets.
• Aditya Birla Chemicals (Epoxy Division): Major manufacturer of epoxy resins and specialty chemicals serving composites, coatings, and electronics. Comparable as a large incumbent in the BPA-epoxy thermoset market SperoSet targets.

Emerging players

• Cyclic Materials: Circular materials company recovering metals and rare earths from end-of-life products. Comparable as an emerging circular-materials/cleantech startup with similar grant-backed early-stage profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spero Renewables