Copyright © 2010 Solander Science Park
December 02, 08
Chemrec AB, at Solander Science Park, the world leader in black liquor gasification, has completed a $20 million funding round. The investment was led by Environmental Technologies Fund (ETF), with support from existing investors, Vantage Point Venture Partners and Volvo Technology Transfer. Swedish company Nykomb AB, which helped develop the Chemrec technology, remains an investor in the Company. The investment is to be used to support Chemrec in commercialising its ground-breaking technology. Chemrec's technology enables pulp & paper mills to become "biorefineries", opening up a whole new range of high-value revenue streams and increasing overall profitability. Typical pulp & paper mills produce thousands of tons a day of a liquid biomass called black liquor. Currently this by-product is burned in steam boilers with low energy efficiency for production of steam and electricity. Sweden-based Chemrec has developed a proprietary, highly efficient gasification technology that enables the conversion of black liquor into renewable motor fuels, biomaterials, or electricity. The global potential of this is equivalent to over 45 billion litres a year of gasoline - 2% of global fuel demand. This would imply an annual reduction in fossil CO2 emission of more than 100 million tonnes.