France-based life sciences venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners’ Green Seed Fund has made its first investment by leading the €2.2m ($3m) round for MetGen, a Finland-based developer of novel enzymes for pulp and paper, biofuel and waste water treatment industries.
Finland state-backed investment companies Finnvera and Finnish Industry Investment also invested in MetGen, which provides laccase enzymes to improve bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and clean up waste water from pulp plants.
In December, Solvay, a Belgium-based chemical group, made a €5m ($6.6m) commitment into the Green Seed Fund, which closed at €22.5m.
Other limited partners in the Green Seed Fund are agri-industrial primary processing company Siclaé, Sofiproteol, a VC firm promoting the devlopment of oilseeds, Unigrains, a private equity and venture capital firm that specializes in mezzanine financings, and CDC Entreprises, a state-backed fund management company.