Biofuels Developer Mascoma Acquires SunOpta BioProcess
Posted in Biofuels on September 1st, 2010 by News Desk –
Lebanon, N.H. – Mascoma, a privately held developer of biofuels, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired SunOpta BioProcess, a Canada-based developer of fiber preparation and pretreatment technologies for biofuels production. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
SunOpta BioProcess is a division of SunOpta (Nasdaq: STKL), a manufacturer of natural and organic food and environmental mineral products.
In the announcement, Mascoma said the combination creates a company with comprehensive capabilities for converting non-food cellulose (wood chips, energy crops and organic solid waste) into ethanol and “high value co-products.”
Founded in 2005, Mascoma has raised over $100 million in venture capital. The company’s bioprocessing method converts non-food biomass feedstocks into cellulosic ethanol through the use of a process that eliminates the need for expensive enzymes and additives.
Mascoma is producing cellulosic ethanol on a demonstration scale at its facility in Rome, N.Y. Its affiliate, Frontier Renewable Resources, is developing a commercial scale production facility in Kinross, Mich.
Investors in Mascoma include, among others, General Catalyst Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, Pinnacle Ventures
Flagship Ventures, and Khosla Ventures.
