The biofuels industry is still chugging along in Massachusetts. Marlborough, MA-based Qteros said today it has closed $22 million in the first tranche of its Series C financing. The investors in the round were not disclosed, but Qteros said both new and existing ones participated. The company’s previous backers include Battery Ventures, Venrock Associates, Long River Ventures, Soros Fund Management, Camros Capital, Valero Energy, and BP.
Qteros, formerly known as SunEthanol, had raised nearly $30 million before this latest financing round. The company has developed an experimental process for making ethanol from plant waste and other non-food sources—corn stalks, sugar cane leftovers, wood chips—that could someday make the cost of biofuels competitive with fossil fuels.
The cellulosic ethanol industry still faces many challenges, but here’s one promising bit of news: Qteros also said this week it has formed a strategic partnership with India’s Praj Industries, a major ethanol producer that has installed plants in more than 50 countries. Financial details weren’t given, but the deal exemplifies Qteros’s technology licensing approach—and it could be a big step forward for the firm.
Author: Gregory T. Huang
Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003.
Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
View all posts by Gregory T. Huang