Amyris racks up $41.8M for renewable biofuels
Amyris Biotechnologies, one of the most generously-funded startups using microorganisms to produce synthetic biofuels, has added to its third round of funding, taking it from $24.7 million to $41.8 million. But Amyris is not going to stop till it hits its $60 million target, hopefully later this fall, it says. Achieving this amount would boost its total capital raised to more than $165 million (to put this in context, it’s lead competitors LS9 and Coskata… Continue Reading
Westly Group closes $120M fund for cleantech
The Westly Group, the firm founded and managed by former California state controller and financial officer Steve Westly, just closed a $120 million fund to fuel revenue-generating cleantech companies. With 13 companies already in the Menlo Park, Calif. firm’s portfolio — including crown jewel investment Tesla Motors — it will be interesting to see which ideas it chooses to back.
Electric vehicles will continue to be an area of emphasis for the firm, which also plans… Continue Reading
LanzaTech churns steel factory emissions into fuel
Biofuel companies are gaining momentum — with the market fixing its eyes on the conversion of corn and other agricultural stocks into ethanol. But another area of the business seems to be heating up: turning trash into transportation fuel. Last week, Fulcrum BioEnergy demonstrated its technology squeezing ethanol from municipal garbage. Today, New Zealand-based LanzaTech says it can do the same from waste gases released by steel factories.
Founded in 2005, the company has proved that… Continue Reading
Amyris Biotechnologies tacks on $21M for biofuel development
One of the most highly valued biofuel startups in the country, Amyris Biotechnologies, has taken on an additional $21 million as part of its previously announced $70 million second round of funding, according to VentureWire.
Amyris is a synthetic biology company that is working on microorganisms to create analogs of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Earlier this year, it joined a venture in Brazil, Crystalsev, to make fuel from sugar in that country.
The company was valued… Continue Reading
Athenix raises $10M for biofuels and specialty chemicals
Athenix, a Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based maker of processes and products for agricultural and bioenergy applications, has raked in $10 million from existing investors Hunt Ventures, Intersouth Partners and Polaris Venture Partners, reports PEHub.
The company sells genes and enzymes that can be used to convert biomass sources, such as corn stover, straw and various agricultural by-products into cellulosic ethanol. It has also developed a process to efficiently extract and ferment sugars from cellulose and… Continue Reading