Låkril Technologies: Creating Sustainable Products from Renewable Materials

Låkril Technologies is a UMN startup launched in 2021 that uses renewable biomaterials to create the chemical building blocks of commonly used materials, such as paint, adhesives, and superabsorbent polymers, that are currently sourced from fossil fuels.

The research, which is supported by the NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers, comes out of Paul Dauenhauer’s lab. Dauenhauer's group was also behind another UMN startup, Sironix Renewables, which launched in 2017.

Dauenhauer is the Lanny & Charlotte Schmidt Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science; he was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2020. His inventions are advancing innovative green technologies that make our world healthier, safer, and more sustainable for future generations.

“This is the kind of research that begins with fundamental ideas that ends up in the community—in this case the business community, having tremendous potential. And this is the kind of startup we love to support and grow,” said UMN Interim Vice President for Research Michael Oakes. MPact 2025, the University’s systemwide strategic plan, has a goal of continuing to increase the number of successful startups the University spins out annually.

Featured as part of the Vice President for Research's FY2021 annual report to the Board of Regents.