OUR SEARCH FOR SYNCHRONICITY

2019 FirepHly Founder Jeff Allen develops a biomass composition database aimed at identifying low lignin, high protein feedstocks for developing materials to displace fossil derived products.

2020 Covid takes its toll but alignment with Auburn University results in a breakthrough with soyhull derived barrier technology for displacing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), and other conventional oil and grease resistance solutions. The implications for vast addressable markets such as food packaging are the subject of techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessment.

2021-2023 Bolstered by the barrier technology breakthrough, core principles are applied to addressing alternatives 

to Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) based 

retail adhesives with the use of 

renewable biomass.   

2024 A team of tight-knit colleagues that have collaborated on a range of decarbonization ventures is assembled once again, and FirepHly BioMaterials is formed. The venture enters into a world-wide exclusive licensing agreement with Auburn University while developing its own IP and “family recipes” in parallel. FirepHly establishes an Innovation Lab co-located within a Sonoma County based craft brewery. Strong partnerships are forged with industry titans, the dataroom elements are being executed upon, and retail readiness is on the horizon.

2025 FirepHly completes development of its first retail adhesive formulations. The stage is set for woodworker’s adhesives, craft and hobby adhesives, and threadlocker from distiller’s spent grains to make their way to the shelves. In parallel, the barrier side of the house is developing films and coatings to replace PVOH films in laundry pods and PFAS in fiber-based substrates. 

The FirepHlies have developed a final adhesive formulation from Kentucky bourbon distillers spent grains. Spent grains are a waste stream generated from the spirits production process that are often given away as animal feed. While fossil derived PVA adhesives dominate the retail landscape, spent grains, a renewable biomass, represent a valuable feedstock that simply has not realized its full commercial potential. FirepHly has unlocked this potential.