HydRegen, a biotechnology company based in Oxford, UK, has raised US$8 million (£6 million) in the first close of its Series A financing round. The company announced the investment on October 14, 2026, highlighting a platform that replaces costly precious-metal catalysts with enzyme-based alternatives for chemical manufacturing. HydRegen says its approach can reduce production costs by up to 40% while lowering carbon emissions, and the new capital will support expansion across multiple industrial sectors.
A New Approach to Hydrogenation
Hydrogenation is a critical step in the manufacture of many chemicals, but conventional processes depend on precious-metal catalysts that can be energy intensive and difficult to optimize. HydRegen estimates that hydrogenation is essential to between 14% and 20% of all processes in the trillion-dollar industrial chemicals market. The company offers a biologically derived alternative that performs the same reactions under much milder conditions, helping manufacturers address tightening environmental and regulatory requirements.
Enzyme-Based Catalyst Platforms
HydRegen produces a hydrogenase enzyme through fermentation and formulates it into a suite of proprietary catalyst platforms. A single enzyme can perform hundreds of different hydrogenation reactions, which creates an opportunity to deploy biomanufacturing widely and achieve the unit economics required for cost-sensitive markets. The company says its bio-based catalyst technology can turn over millions of times, delivering both cost savings and sustainability improvements.
Drop-In Compatibility with Existing Plants
One of HydRegen's key advantages is that its biocatalyst technology works as a drop-in solution within existing manufacturing infrastructure. Manufacturers do not need to redesign or rebuild plants because they can change the catalyst without changing the factory. This compatibility is intended to accelerate adoption across chemical manufacturing, where decades of global infrastructure have been optimized around precious-metal catalysts.
Funding Details and Investor Base
The Series A first close was led by Genoa Ventures, with participation from Clean Growth Fund and First Imagine! Ventures. Additional investors included Oxford Technology Management, Headington Holdings, Oxonian, Foxglove Capital, and Rapid Innovation Group. The capital will enable HydRegen to expand existing work with customers in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical industries while accelerating adoption in chemicals, agrochemicals, materials, and bulk chemicals.
Leadership and Expansion Plans
HydRegen Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Holly Reeve explained that the company made biology perform like chemistry, allowing biocatalyst platforms to fit into the equipment and processes manufacturers already use. She said asking manufacturers to abandon existing infrastructure would slow adoption, whereas changing only the catalyst opens a path to lower costs and better sustainability. The new funding will help HydRegen move into higher-volume markets and expand into additional applications.
Investor Confidence
Genoa Ventures Founder and Managing Director Jenny Rooke said HydRegen brings together strong science, solid economics, a path to scale, capital efficiency, and demonstrated customer demand. She noted that many companies using biology for industrial production face large scale-up costs or develop technology without solving the full problem a customer needs addressed. With HydRegen, she sees all the necessary pieces coming together under a team that understands how the chemical industry actually operates.
The first close of this Series A round positions HydRegen to broaden the use of enzyme-based catalysts in a market that has long relied on precious metals. By offering a drop-in alternative that reduces costs and emissions without requiring new plants, the company aims to make sustainable chemical manufacturing more practical at scale. Its progress with existing customers and the backing of investors indicate growing confidence in biology as a viable replacement for conventional chemical processes.