http://www.ethanolproducer.com/articles/9206/lanzatech-secures-15-million-debt-financing
LanzaTech
recently closed on $15 million in debt financing from Western
Technology Investment. Earlier this year, LanzaTech closed a $55.8
million Series C funding round led by Malaysian Life Sciences Capital
Fund, bringing the total capital raised to date to more than $100
million.
LanzaTech has developed a novel biological process of carbon capture
involving proprietary biological microbes that can use a variety of
waste gases as a nutrient source—including waste gases from industry,
which would otherwise be flared as carbon dioxide. The process can also
use syngas generated from any biomass resource, including municipal,
organic industrial and agricultural wastes, as well as reformed natural
gas.
The company has a 100,000 gallon-per-year demonstration facility
operating in China using steel mill off gases for ethanol production.
Full commercial operation is targeted for 2013. “The ethanol produced at
the China steel mill has been tested and approved as fuel grade ethanol
and we are currently preparing samples for additional testing,” CEO
Jennifer Holmgren told Ethanol Producer Magazine. “The focus of
the pre-commercial facility has been to run the process at scale and it
has successfully demonstrated this to date.”
The company continues work at its Freedom Pines facility in Soperton,
Ga., the former Range Fuels facility purchased at a January foreclosure
sale. “We have increased our team on site and are accelerating the
shakedown of the gasifier,” Holmgren said. Range Fuels was developing a
cellulosic ethanol process based on Fischer-Tropsch technology and had
been commissioning the facility when it ceased operations.
The new financing for LanzaTech comes from WTI, a private investment
firm based in Silicon Valley, that has provided more than $3 billion of
debt and equity capital to technology and life science companies ranging
from early-stage private companies to publicly-traded companies,
including Facebook, Google and Juniper Networks. Their investments range
from $250,000 to $30 million and are structured as fully usable,
unrestricted growth capital.
"LanzaTech's team has developed an innovative approach to carbon
capture and reuse that is already operating at scale," said David Wanek
of WTI. "Their unique technology has the potential to have a real and
significant impact on the global fuels and chemicals market. WTI is
excited to be joining LanzaTech on its journey to commercialization and
we look forward to great things from them."
"We are delighted to partner with WTI to accelerate our growth,"
Holmgren said. "WTI has an outstanding reputation and this venture debt
completes our current fundraising. We will continue to invest our
capital in LanzaTech's research and development program and to
accelerate the commercialization of our integrated fuels and chemicals
platform."
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