May 14, 2008 2:19 PM PDT

Algae maker GreenFuel Technologies scores cash and customer

GreenFuel Technologies on Wednesday said that it has completed a round of funding to ramp up its algae-farming projects.

The company landed $13.9 million, which was led by Access Private Equity, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Polaris Venture Partners.

A portion of the money will retire debt the company borrowed following a corporate shakeup last year that put Bob Metcalfe in as interim-CEO. The remaining $7.6 million in new capital, which completes its series B round, will go to scale up technology projects.

Algae being grown at GreenFuel Technologies' test site at Arizona Public Service power plant.

(Credit: GreenFuel Technologies)

In a statement, Metcalfe said the company will announce a new CEO, a C round of funding, and signed customers for its technology.

GreenFuel also disclosed that one algae-growing project began in January but declined to provide details.

In March, news Web site Xconomy reported that GreenFuel had landed a customer in Europe that could be worth $92 million.

GreenFuel builds bioreactors that grow algae at sites that emit a lot of carbon dioxide. Its first pilot was at an Arizona power plant.

The algae is harvested and can be turned into biodiesel or other forms of biomass that can be converted into electricity or other liquid fuels.

A number of companies are developing algae technologies because of the rising cost of soybeans to make biodiesel and growing concern over growing food crops for fuels.

Recent posts from Green Tech
Japanese Shell subsidiary plans solar-panel plant
India reveals its first climate change plan
LCD making worse for environment than coal?
Chemists brew 'greener' fireworks
Solid state drive makers promise better power management
Add a Comment (Log in or register) 1 comment (Page 1 of 1)
by fokkwp May 14, 2008 4:12 PM PDT
Algae is about the only potential biofuel that doesn't ruin rainforests or drive the price of grain beyond the ability of hungry millions to buy and consume it. Algae is probably the brightest star in the alternative fuels research sky. Yet here these folks are, scraping for a few millions in capital, while Congress has pledged 18 billion for nukes that no one will ever complete and we spend 3 trillion on military incursions to project power into oil regions so we can scrabble over the last drops of that failing technology. Absurd? Suicidal? Please don't ask me for a carbon neutral sticker on my car or other token nonsense. Billions and trillions is the scale that's needed, available, and would put the US on a leadership course to be the *provider* of fuels just when other nations become desperate enough to pay us extremely well for it.
Reply to this comment
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement
  • About Green Tech

  • Innovation in energy and environmental technologies is long overdue. But it's here now--and growing fast. Touching on everything from water to wind turbines, CNET News.com's Martin LaMonica and other CNET writers serve up fresh green tech news and commentary.

Add this feed to your online news reader
Google
Yahoo
MSN

Most popular stories

  1. Photos: Top 10 newly discovered species

  2. Photos: Army designates year's best inventions

  3. Photos: Cracking Open the Apple Macintosh Classic

  4. Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week

  5. Source: Protective order will keep Viacom out of sensitive YouTube user data

Latest tech news headlines

Featured blogs

Beyond Binary by Ina Fried

Coop's Corner by Charles Cooper

Defense in Depth by Robert Vamosi

Geek Gestalt by Daniel Terdiman

One More Thing by Tom Krazit

Outside the Lines by Dan Farber

The Iconoclast by Declan McCullagh

The Social by Caroline McCarthy

Underexposed by Stephen Shankland

advertisement
On MovieTome: SEX AND THE CITY clips are here!
Advanced
search
Advanced
search
Visit other CBS Interactive sites