US-listed conglomerate General Electric has joined a consortium investing $8m in CoolPlanetBioFuels, a renewable energy company.
Venture capital firm North Bridge Venture Partners led the round as a repeat investor with GE Energy Financial Services also participating.
Mike Cheiky, CoolPlanet’s president and chief technology officer, said: "GE’s technical and market resources could accelerate our development well beyond the impact of the company’s financial investment."
Kevin Skillern, managing director of venture capital at GE Energy Financial Services, said: "CoolPlanet’s low-capital process yields high-value products, including gasoline."
Basil Horangic, who has no job title at North Bridge, which invested as part of CoolPlanet’s $3.5m round last year, added: "The fuel market is one of the world’s largest at about $4 trillion per year. Today, biofuels are only a tiny portion of that market, but are poised for rapid growth based on concerns about global warming and importing oil."