Nova Pangaea Technologies secures additional investment following trials

Redcar, UK-based biofuels firm Nova Pangaea Technologies has raised an additional £900,000 (€995,800) from investors following successful trials of its technology.

The latest funding comes from Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and forms part of the NPIF, the UK Government’s Future Fund and existing private investors, and will support Nova Pangaea in the run-up to a planned Series A investment later in the year.

The company’s patented REFNOVAO technology converts materials such as woody residues, wheat straw and sugar cane, and uses them to create biofuels and other chemicals.

Nova Pangaea completed its demonstration plant in Redcar in December 2019 and, following successful trials, gained its first international customer in March. The latest funding brings the total raised to £3 million (€3.3 million).

As part of the latest investment, the firm has strengthened its executive management team with the appointment of Neil Guilder as CFO, Dr Neil Hindle as CTO and Peter McGenity as CCO. Guilder has more than 25 years of experience as CFO of ‘ambitious’ SMEs, according to a statement by Mercia, where he has led successful development financing and corporate growth.

Dr Hindle has over 20 years’ experience and will lead the technical development and operations of the REFNOVAO patented process. McGenity has over 30 years’ international executive experience in renewable energy, ethanol, and agri-processing, and will drive the company’s commercial development.

Sarah Ellerby, CEO at Nova Pangaea, said: “It’s been a transformative six months for Nova Pangaea as we continue to accelerate our commercial offering and move towards a potential Series A financing.

“This oversubscription of existing shareholders and support from Future Fund is a key indicator of the level of commitment from our shareholders to execute on the high-level of commercial interest in our technology. With the executive team in place, we are now in a position to execute the growth plan.”

“Nova Pangaea’s technology has the potential to help break our reliance on oil and create hundreds of jobs in the years ahead,” said Simon Crabtree, investment manager with Mercia.

“The technology has already been successfully trialled and this latest investment will allow the team to collect more data to prove its effectiveness as it looks to target the global marketplace.”

The NPIF is supported financially by the European Union, using funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.