SG Biofuels, Inc., an Encinitas, California-based bioenergy crop company, announced earlier this month that it completed a $9.4 million Series A financing. Participating in this round were Flint Hills Resources, a privately held company based in Kansas; Life Technologies Corporation, a biotechnology tools company based in Carlsbad, California; and existing investors. The company said that the financing will support its efforts to advance Jatropha (a non-edible shrub native to Central America) as a high-yielding, low cost feedstock for diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemicals.
In addition, SG Biofuels announced that Anthony Sementelli, CFO of Flint Hills Resources, and Nathan Wood, vice president of Life Technologies’ Genomics Technologies business segment, have joined the company's board of directors.
“We are very pleased to complete this financing with high-caliber partners that bring strategic value to our business model, and to have the round oversubscribed further validates our approach,” said Kirk Haney, president and chief executive officer at SG Biofuels. “Our integrated platform of breeding, biotechnology and agronomy provides a significant opportunity for SG Biofuels and our partners to create a thriving global market for crude Jatropha oil.”