Germany-based chemicals company BASF has taken 60% of the $50.1m series C round for Renmatix, a US-based maker of cellulosic sugars from biomass such as wood and straw.
The company only came out of stealth mode in September, having had previous backing from venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which had previously backed clean-tech company Amyris and whose chief executive, John Melo, joined Renmatix’s board.
According to regulatory filings for Sriya, the company first raised $7.1m in December 2007 and a further $15m in October 2008 before the latest $50.1m round from five investors. The other disclosed investor is Bright Capital, the $350m corporate venturing unit of Russia-based conglomerate Ru-Com.
BASF’s Biorenewable subsidiary led the round with its $30m investment in Renmatix, formerly known as Sriya Innovations and which has a Plantrose platform (pictured) to convert wood into sugars that the chemical industry uses to produce biofuels or basic chemical products and intermediates by fermentative processes.
Josef Wünsch, senior vice-president of modelling, formulation research and technology incubation at BASF, who had previously had the title of co-head of BASF Venture Capital, said: "The Plantrose technology could allow us in the future to broaden our use of renewable raw materials while improving the cost effectiveness of our value chains even further. In the partnership with Renmatix, BASF is pursuing a new direction while simultaneously underlining its corporate strategy of offering even more sustainable solutions."
Mike Hamilton, chief executive at Renmatix, said: "We have already demonstrated the functionality of the Plantrose process in a pilot plant. In cooperation with BASF, we will be moving it to the industrial scale."
Separately, cellulosic sugar extraction technology developer Sweetwater has raised $500,000 from an undisclosed source and named board chairman Arunas Chesonis as chief executive, accoridng to news provider Biorefining Magazine. Prior to joining Sweetwater, Chesonis founded telecommunications company Paetec before selling it to peer Windstream for $2.3bn and he told Biorefining Magazine: "Sugar is the new oil.
"Most of the products, including plastics and biochemicals that have been traditionally made from petroleum, are increasingly being made from sugar, a sustainable and renewable resource that we can economically manage. I’ve been working with companies and universities across the renewable energy spectrum in the last several years to develop new technologies that are ready for primetime."