Greenfuel Technologies, the Cambridge, MA, biofuels startup that closed its doors last month after running out of venture cash, is trying to scrape together some money for its creditors and investors through a sale of intellectual property and other assets.
In a post on its website today, the company said it’s entertaining offers for its basic algae production technology—big tanks designed to be installed next to facilities such as cement plants that emit lots of carbon dioxide, which can be captured and converted into plant matter through photosynthesis.
The company also said it’s selling intellectual property related to “downstream processing” of the algae, thin film technology, algae selection and optimization techniques, and “Generation 1 and 2 bioreactors (tubular).” The company is planning a sealed bid auction for the assets, and says a detailed description and bid sheet is available to interested parties.
According to an e-mail tip received from “Anon GreenFueler”—presumably, a former employee of the startup—there are “several interested parties currently vying to bid for the trade secrets, know-how, and equipment held by GreenFuel.”
Greenfuel struggled for eight years to commercialize its algae production system, which was intended to produce material that could be converted into either protein-rich feedstock or ethanol for cars and trucks. But the company was unable to raise the Series C funding it needed to build its first planned industrial-scale production facility in Spain. The company laid off about half of its staff in January and shut down entirely on May 13.
