Chemicals producer National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NatPet) has led a $45m series E round for US-based gas-to-fuel technology provider Siluria that closed yesterday.
NatPet, a subsidiary of holding company Alujain Corporation, was joined by engineering and contracting services provider Maire Tecnimont, Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions, the engineering and chemical process subsidiary of industrial gas firm Air Liquide, and undisclosed existing investors.
Siluria’s Oxidative Coupling of Methane technology enables fuels and chemicals to be produced from gas. It converts methane into ethylene, and ethylene into liquid fuels like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
The company has now raised $170m since it was founded in 2008. NatPet provided its $25m share of the series E round in November 2015.
Oil and gas company Saudi Aramaco invested $30m in Siluria in 2014, while Presidio Ventures, a subsidiary of conglomerate Sumitomo, took part in its series A, B and C rounds between 2010 and 2012.
Other Siluria backers include Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Wellcome Trust, Bright Capital, Vulcan Capital, Lux Capital, Lighthouse Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Alloy Ventures, Altitude Life Science Venture and Arch Venture Partners.
Erick Scher, Siluria’s co-founder and interim CEO, said: “Our latest partnerships expand Siluria’s technology reach into additional downstream markets and build on the company’s proven competencies to translate first-of-a-kind process technologies into steel in the ground.”