California’s LA JOLLA — Viridos, Inc., the premier algal biofuel business devoted to generating sustainable, low-carbon, algae-based jet and diesel fuel, has secured a USD 25M Series A equity investment. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., United Airlines Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) participated in the Series A. The money will go into research and development to boost algal oil production further to be utilized commercially.
Almost a third of the liquid fossil fuels utilized globally are diesel and jet fuel. The heavy transportation industry encompassing aircraft, shipping, and long-distance trucks relies on these fuels with demand predicted to expand for decades, generating enormous decarbonization issues. By pioneering the bioengineering of microalgae, Viridos seeks to address this issue and has already produced seven times as much oil as wild algae. This creates the conditions for algal oil’s scalable and sustainable production as the preferred feedstock for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) (RD). SAF and RD manufactured from Viridos algal oil are anticipated to have a 70% lower carbon footprint.
We are laying the groundwork for a biofuel future that transitions from fossil fuels without competing for valuable resources like fresh water and arable land by developing production facilities to produce Viridos-engineered microalgae in seawater. We are thrilled to have the backing of BEV, the top venture capital fund for the energy transition, Chevron, and United Airlines. Collectively, we can create the environment required to sell algal biofuels, according to Viridos CEO Oliver Fetzer. “We eagerly anticipate commercializing our oil-producing algae and developing them to create scalable amounts of SAF and RD.”
Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures states, “Decarbonizing the heavy transportation industry is vital for tackling climate change and hence a primary focus for BEV. “Viridos’ Oliver and his colleagues have developed a promising method for turning algae into long-lasting liquid fuels. Viridos is a significant addition to BEV’s portfolio since the science underlying their platform positions them to overcome the critical scaling constraints.
The president of United Airlines Ventures, Mike Leskinen, stated that SAF is “the best tool we have to minimize our carbon emissions from flying” despite a severe lack of readily available feedstock. “United remains dedicated to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 without depending on conventional carbon offsets. United is the worldwide aviation leader in SAF manufacturing investment. Our first investment in our brand-new, cross-industry Sustainable Flight Fund is Viridos’ algae-based biofuel technology, which has the potential to help us address our supply problem without the need for cropland or other agricultural resources.
We try our best to fact-check and bring the best, well-researched, and non-plagiarized content to you. Please let us know
-if there are any discrepancies in any of our published stories,
-how we can improve,
-what stories you would like us to cover and what information you are looking for, in the comments section below or through our contact form! We look forward to your feedback, and thank you for stopping by!
Next Article
 participated in the Series A. The money will go into research and development to boost algal oil production further to be utilized commercially.){kind=link}