AAA NatPet helps pump $25m into Siluria

NatPet helps pump $25m into Siluria

Siluria Technologies, a US-based company that converts gas to fuels and chemicals, secured $25m on Wednesday in a round led by propylene and polypropylene producer National Petrochemical Industrial Company.

Founded in 2008, Siluria has developed what it claims is the first commercially viable process for converting methane to ethylene, and can also convert ethylene to liquid fuels like gasoline, diesel or jet fuel.

The technology could hypothetically allow natural gas to replace petroleum for use in transportation fuels and commodity chemicals.

Siluria received $30m in series D funding from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, petroleum producer Saudi Aramco’s corporate venturing unit, in August 2014.

Together with the latest funding, the company has raised a total of $50m since then, with additional backers including Oman-based Fine-Teck and Germany-based gases and engineering firm Linde.

Ed Dineen, Siluria’s president and chief executive, said: “We are very pleased to have NatPet join Siluria both as an investor and as a commercial partner.

“The accelerating growth of our commercial portfolio is a clear validation of the strategic value of Siluria’s solutions in a highly volatile energy and chemicals market.”

The round brought Siluria’s overall funding to $150m. Presidio Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of conglomerate Sumitomo, participated in its $13m series A round, $20m series B and $30m series C, raised between 2010 and 2012.

Siluria’s other investors include Bright Capital, Vulcan Capital, Wellcome Trust, Lux Capital, Lighthouse Capital Partners, Alloy Ventures, Altitude Life Science Venture, Arch Venture Partners, Alexandria Real Estate Equities and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

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