Chemical StartUps Series #18: Fluence Analytics

Please introduce the value proposition of your company. How will your company disrupt or dramatically change how things are currently done?

Fluence Analytics delivers realtime industrial and laboratory analytics solutions for polymer manufacturers. The data generated from proprietary hardware and software provides insights into material properties, enabling realtime process optimization and control for yield, cost and quality improvements while reducing overall waste. Additionally, the technology enhances novel material development and scale up.

These value propositions allows Fluence Analytics to target several verticals of the polymer industry for initial adoption. With a significant installed base, there is further opportunity for closed loop process control, data mining, visualization and AI correlation software packages, which are currently in prototype stage.

Typically, chemical companies produce polymers without directly monitoring what is happening in the reactor. Because they lack realtime data, these specification parameters are checked by the QC lab after the reaction is over or periodically during continuous production. Because it is not desirable to have variable, extended cycle times, off-spec polymer batches or excess transitional material during continuous operation, the reaction or transition will run longer than necessary, consuming energy, operator time, and equipment availability. Utilizing a dynamic approach to polymer monitoring is desirable for many polymer manufacturers.

ACOMP monitors polymerization reactions through continuous sampling and measurement of the reactor. The smart manufacturing system produces a highly conditioned sample stream on which multiple analytical measurements are continuously made yielding data on conversion, kinetics, residual monomers, molecular weight, reduced viscosity, and other critical parameters.

With this information, optimum reaction efficiency and product quality is achieved by adjusting process variables such as temperature, pressure, reagent feed rates, and reaction time. Importantly, even though ACOMP data output is model-independent, it can easily be incorporated into process control models to actively control the reaction based on ACOMP, in conjunction with other process data. We view the next level of opportunity to be contextualized analysis of existing process data with real-time information on critical material properties.

The first prototype ACOMP installation was through a Joint Development with Nalco, an Ecolab company, at one of its facilities in Louisiana. ACOMP reduced the customer’s batch cycle time by an average of 17% on the reactor connected to ACOMP.

Manual sample collection and off-line (QC lab) measurements are the most significantly used approaches globally. These measurements can include gas or liquid chromatography, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and/or rheological measurements. Other partial solutions include calibration dependent inline probes and some model based approaches.

Who are your customers and how large is the addressable market for your products/services?

Worldwide, the polymer industry is approximately worth $1 Trillion (USD) across many verticals. The increasing complexity of chemistry and the accelerating requirements of end users continue to drive innovation in these sectors. Polymer manufacturers operate thousands of reactors, and Fluence Analytics’ ACOMP hardware and software products can deliver up to $MMs+ in value per reactor, annually. Sharing this value created with customers on a per line basis through one of our business models, which include system sales with software and services, full service subscription and leasing, presents a significant opportunity (multiple $Bs) across many verticals. Customers include Nalco, Firestone, Mitsubishi Chemical (CVC investor) and LG Chem, and a number of others that we cannot mention due to confidentiality.

How scalable do you believe your company is?

Because our target customers are multi-national petrochemical companies, the offering is relevant globally and we expect to continue expanding the universe of applications, including beyond polymers. In order to drive adoption, we’ve been utilizing paid proof of concept programs with different companies to demonstrate the value of the data in relevant applications. This has generated significant interest worldwide. We’ve sold product and executed these POCs in the U.S., Europe and Asia. We already have partners in place to serve most of Asia and are working on setting up such partners throughout Europe. Our latest investor is Diamond Edge Ventures, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. Through that relationship we are working on many different applications and opportunities, including with teams in Japan. Finally, we are adding more supply chain and technical service partners to help us staff our POCs and shorten product lead times for production and installation. Fluence Analytics has 16 issued patents and 31 active applications.

Can you summarize the journey of your company up to this point?

Fluence Analytics began operations in 2013 to commercialize technologies developed at Tulane University’s PolyRMC. The company’s first product installation occurred in 2014, and since then several others have been launched in production and laboratory environments. Fluence Analytics raised a Series A financing round in 2017 that was led by Energy Innovation Capital and followed up that momentum with a Series A-1 round in 2019 led by Energy Innovation Capital with participation from Diamond Edge Ventures. Currently, Fluence Analytics is focused on rolling out more ACOMP systems and executing POCs all over the globe with large customers. We are also working on a next-generation ACOMP system that enhances performance and reach of applications. Our team is also working on new measurement technologies to add to the ACOMP platform as well as software for automation, process control, data analysis, correlation and contextualization.

What is pivotal for your success going forward?

Our focus is on improving performance and reducing our production costs and lead times of ACOMP through standardization and our supply chain. We are also increasing our capacity by expanding our team. Another area we’re working on is a next-generation ACOMP system that will serve more polymer manufacturers and bring optimized, more sustainable manufacturing processes to a larger share of the polymer market. The impediments to ACOMP adoption include ability to share data and case studies when working with customers. Many prefer to maintain work proprietary. Without more public data we are required to do more POCs to demonstrate value in specific applications and with specific customers. We are working to expand the POC program and also with various customers for case studies and publications as we continue to roll out the technology.

Can you provide some KPIs that helps understand the size and growth of your company?

We are expecting to get to cash flow positive run rate by end of 2021 or 2022. Our geographic focus areas include the United States, Asia and Europe. Our total team of employees and contractors is over 25.

How can strategic partners from the chemical industry or financial investors contribute to your success?

We are always looking for opportunities to work with leading companies in our target markets. We are also currently fundraising and looking to engage with strategic and financial investors to join our premier group of existing investors. Our next round of funding will be used to expand our POC program, support our subscription and leasing business models, commercialize AI based correlation and process control prototypes and build out our capacity and sales operations for global deployments. Ideal investors are ones that are familiar with scaling industrially focused companies and strategic investors or partners willing to work together as customers, joint technology development activities, accelerating manufacturing or delivering new sales channels. 

Who is the primary point of contact for investors and strategic partners?

• Alex Reed
• CEO and Co-founder
• [email protected]
• +1 504-777-2804
• https://fluenceanalytics.com/
• https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/fluenceanalytics/

Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for this content is with the company profiled.

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