EdeniQ quietly raises $33 million for cellulosic ethanol
updated
EdeniQ, an Encino, Calif.-based cellulosic ethanol startup, has quietly wrapped up a $33 million round of funding as part of its spinoff from parent company Altra Biofuels. PE Hub reports that Advanced Equities Investments and Draper Fisher Jurvetson were the lead investors; other backers include Element Partners, Angeleno Group, The Westly Group, Omninet, DAG Ventures and Northgate Capital.
EdeniQ claims its processes for converting non-food biomass sources into cellulosic ethanol can be implemented for “a fraction of the $6 to $12 per gallon capital cost” it would normally take to build a cellulosic facility using current technologies. The firm is focused on developing processes to make ethanol from agricultural waste like corn stover, woodchips and rice straw without requiring a complete overhaul of the existing biofuel infrastructure.
One of its goals is to bring the cost of cellulosic ethanol below $1.50 per gallon in the near future. EdeniQ certainly isn’t alone: A large number of startups — some using synthetic biology, others using similar enzymatic processes — is racing to bring a viable, cost-effective biofuel production method to market first. The best hope may still lie in algae, which need only water and sunlight to grow. Sapphire Energy, a San Diego-based algal biofuel firm, has received over $50 million to develop algae that can produce a substance similar to crude oil.
Next Story: PowerGenix hopes to overtake NiMH dominance with alt-chemistry rechargeable batteries
Previous Story: Introducing MobileBeat 2008
About the Author, Jeremy Jacquot
Jeremy Jacquot is a doctoral student at the University of Southern California who is studying watershed management and global biogeochemical cycling. He previously studied marine biology at UCLA where he earned his B.S. in 2005; he is the Los Angeles correspondent for TreeHugger, where he focuses on science/technology and business news.