Funding hits target for algae development

Algae-based green oil producer, Sapphire Energy, has closed its final round of Series C investment funding, raising $144 million (€108 million).

Not all of the investors were disclosed but those that were included Arrowpoint Partners and Monsanto. Including this funding round, Sapphire Energy has now raised a total of $300 million from public and private sources.

The money raised will be put towards the current construction of a commercial demonstration plant which is being built in Luna County, New Mexico.

The Integrated Algal BioRefinery will be the first demonstration plant that converts algae into energy through the whole value chain which involves cultivation, production, extraction and refining.

As well as the funds being put towards this development, some money has also been plugged into the continuing operations of Sapphire Energy.

‘It’s amazing to see that what started from an idea scribbled on the back of napkin is now a leading force in support of the goal to improve energy security for the country,’ says Jason Pyle, CEO of Sapphire Energy.

Sapphire is also working on other developments, such as the integration of Earthrise Nutritionals’ spirulina algae strain into its growing inventory of cyanobacteria and algae strains to expand resources for algae-to-energy production.