Biomass firm gets $21M in funding
From an article by Jeff Richgels in The Capital Times:
A local firm that is developing technology to convert various forms of carbohydrate-based biomass to gasoline and other fuels has raised $21 million in new venture funding.
Madison-based Virent Energy Systems on Wednesday announced the financing round, which was led by Venture Investors of Madison and Stark Investments of St. Francis, and included Cargill Ventures, the venture capital arm of agribusiness giant Cargill and a previous Virent investor.
With the funding, which was the company’s second round of venture financing, Virent now has raised nearly $40 million in venture funding and grants since its founding in 2002.
Virent said investor interest was driven in large part by the company’s continued development of its innovative BioForming process beyond hydrogen and fuel gas applications and toward the production of renewable “green” gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels. The products have the same characteristics as their petroleum-based counterparts and are compatible with existing car engines, fuel pumps, and distribution pipelines.
