Friday, October 1, 2010

Gevo Buys Ethanol Plant

Gevo, the Caltech spinoff developing biofuels processing technology, said last week that it has completed its acquisition of a biofuels plant in Luverne, Minnesota. The plant--which currently is producing ethanol--will be converted to product isobutanol using Gevo's technology. Gevo's technology is based on research developed out of Caltech, although the firm is now located in Colorado. Gevo is one of the SoCal-linked firms currently in IPO registration. Gevo was co-founded by Dr. Frances Arnold, the Dickinson Professor of chemical engineering and biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. Gevo filed for an IPO in August. The firm also has licensed technology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is venture backed by Khosla Ventures, Virgin Green Fund, Total Energy Ventures, Burrill Life Sciences Capital Fund, and the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund.