Aurora Algae raises $22m in funding round

Aurora Algae, a US and Australia-based company dedicated to algae development, has received $22 million (€15.7 million) in its latest funding round.

Current investor Oak Investment Partners led the round, along with other existing investors and an unnamed foreign strategic investor. To date, Aurora Algae has raised $72 million.

These latest funds will help finance the construction of Aurora Algae's large-scale facility in Maitland, Australia, which will be built on a 610 hectare plot. It will also be put towards an expansion project at the company's Hayward, California-based laboratory.

MWH and John Holland will design and build the new commercial-scale facility, which follows the successful completion of its demo-scale facility earlier this year.

Located in Karratha, the fully operational facility includes six raceway ponds, reaching 1 acre each in size, as well as four 400m2 ponds and four 50m2 ponds.

Algae developed at the company's commercial facility will be suitable for use in a number of markets including green energy and pharmaceutical.