A new SEC filing revealed that LS9 — a biotechnology startup turning plant-based materials into fuel and chemicals for use within traditional petroleum-based systems — has raised a series D investment of $30 million.
The round was led by BlackRock and joined by all of LS9’s previous investors: Flagship Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and CTTV Investments LLC, the venture capital arm of Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, according to a company spokesperson.
LS9 uses synthetic biology, or what it calls “designer microbes,” and a “single-step fermentation process,” to make proprietary biofuels. The company’s pilot plant in South San Francisco has been in operation for over two years. It acquired a larger-scale production facility in Okeechobee, Florida in early 2010. This spring, LS9 won the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest environmental honor.
In total, the company has raised $75 million in venture funding since 2006. LS9 plans to use the $30 million to move into commercial-scale production, and to support additional development and growth programs. TechCrunch has reached out to the company and its investors for further details.