Solix Biofuels raises $10.5M for algae pilot plant
A Fort Collins, Colo. company called Solix Biofuels has plans to grow algae in closed bioreactors, harvesting as much as 3,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year.
Solix just raised $10.5 million, with a commitment for another $5 million, from a set of investors including the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, on whose reservation they are siting a pilot plant. The company plans to scale up both the size of the pilot and the amount of biofuel, a crude oil analog, that the algae produce.
While Solix’s plans to use closed bioreactors resembles the plans of other companies like GreenFuel, the direct production of “biocrude” resembles Sapphire Energy, a heavily funded startup that uses an open-pond system with wastewater, typically considered cheaper. Other companies usually harvest and kill the algae they cultivate in order to extract oil from it, adding an extra step to the process.
The rest of Solix’s funding was raised from Valero Energy, I2BF Venture Capial, Bohemian Investments and Infield Capital.
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About the Author, Chris Morrison
Chris Morrison writes about cleantech and environmental issues for VentureBeat, with occasional forays into gaming and semantic technology. He got his start writing about tech for Business 2.0 magazine, but quickly realized new media was the ticket when that institution closed its doors in 2007. Chris has also covered public equities and regulatory issues. He originally hails from southern Virginia, graduated from Evergreen State College in Washington, and now lives in San Francisco.