Shell Spinoff Avantium Raises $43.9 Million To Develop Green Plastics, Chemicals And Fuel

Lora Kolodny

Lora Kolodny is a technology journalist. As of 2012 she works as a reporter for Dow Jones covering startups and venture capital. Her writing is also syndicated to the Dow Jones owned Wall Street Journal. Lora began reporting on business, technology and entertainment in 2002. She has worked as greentech writer and editor at TechCrunch, and as a staff reporter... → Learn More

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

Shell spinoff Avantium raised another EUR 30 million, or about $43.9 million (USD) the company reported Thursday. Avantium produces “chemical building blocks” that industrial plastics, textile and fuel makers need to churn out green products that are as affordable and work as well as petroleum-based equivalents.

Avantium uses a catalytic process to convert carbohydrates into furanics, which are bio-materials that can be made from sugar or non-food sources.

The company plans to use its new funds, in part, to create a 100 percent plant-based, 100 percent recyclable polyester. It also aims to complete and begin operating a production plant in Geleen, the Netherlands. The plant was expected to be up and running already, according to earlier reports by Green Car Congress.

The EUR 30 million included EUR 25 million in financing from: Sofinnova Partners, Aster Capital and De Hoge Dennen as well as existing investors Aescap Venture, Capricorn Cleantech Fund, ING Corporate Investments and Navitas Capital. The company also obtained a subsidy and innovation credit of EUR 5 million from the Dutch Ministry of Economy, Agriculture and Innovation. Part of the overall round was used to buy out shares held by DFJ Esprit, AlpInvest, Eastman, EDBI and Pfizer.

Website: avantium.com
Launch Date: 2000
Funding: $61.9M

Avantium is a leading technology company specialized in advanced high-throughput R&D for applications in the energy, chemicals and pharmaceutical industries. The company’s headquarters and laboratories are located in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. Avantium’s proprietary high-throughput technology enables a faster and more cost-effective development of new and improved products and production processes. Using its unique rational approach towards the design of experiments and data analysis, Avantium is capable of accomplishing innovations with superior success rate. Avantium has demonstrated the validity and...

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Financial-organization: Sofinnova Partners
Website: sofinnova.fr
Launch Date: 1972

Sofinnova Partners is an independent venture capital firm based in Paris, France. For over 35 years, the firm has backed nearly 500 companies at different stages of development – pure creations, spin-offs, as well as turnaround situations – and worked alongside Europe’s key entrepreneurs in the technology, life sciences and cleantech sectors. With €1.1 billion of funds under management, Sofinnova Partners’ experienced team and hands-on approach in building portfolio companies through to exit have created market leaders,...

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