Itochu Corporation has bought a stake in US-based biofuels company Zeachem for an undisclosed sum.
The companies said they would work together to expand the technology worldwide, both in bioethanol and in chemicals sectors that produce from biomass, looking to commercialise the technology in 2014.
Zeachem said it produces biomass efficiently, with less production of carbon dioxide than other processes.
The company was founded in 2002, and has had previous corporate backing from Valero Energy Corporation. It initially raised $19m in a series C financing in October 2011 from Birchmere Ventures, Firelake Capital, Globespan Capital Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, PrairieGold Venture Partners and Spring Ventures, although it subsequently updated the Securities and Exchange Commission to say it had raised $24m in November.
This followed a $34m series B in January 2009, co-led by Globespan Capital Partners and PrairieGold, with backing from Valero Energy Corporation, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Firelake Capital. The company previously raised $6m in 2007, according to news provider GigaOm.
The company also filed for $500,000 in funding with the SEC in 2009.
The business has also received significant support from the US government including most recently a $232.5m loan guarantee from the US Department of Agriculture’s Biorefinery Assistance Program.