Thursday, January 27, 2011

CoolPlanetBioFuels Gets Funding From GE Capital, NRG Energy, ConocoPhillips

Camarillo-based CoolPlanetBiofuels, a developer of non-food biofuel technology, is one of the first investments from a new venture capital fund launched Thursday by GE Capital, NRG Energy, and ConocoPhillips. According to GE, NRG, and ConocoPhillips, they have committed $300M in capital to a new joint venture, Energy Technology Ventures, to fund around 30 venture- and growth-stage companies over the next four years. The three said the first investments from the joint are in Alta Devices, Ciris Energy, and CoolPlanetBiofuels. CoolPlanetBioFuels is the biofuels startup headed by Mike Cheiky. The firm is developing technology that converts low-grade biomass into high-grade fuel and carbon that can be sequestered.