Inventure International (Pte) Limited Closes $7.2 Million Financing Round

TUSCALOOSA, Ala., July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Inventure International (Pte) Limited, holding company of renewable process technology leader Inventure Renewables Inc., recently closed a $7.2 million round of financing that the company will use to establish a plant for the conversion of biomass into mixed industrial sugars, using Inventure's patented Mixed Super Critical Fluid (MSCF) technology.

In partnership with strategic investor Trebet Assets Corporation (Trebet), Inventure will use a portion of the proceeds to establish Alchimia Inc., a joint venture to build and operate a demonstration plant built around MSCF technology. The Missouri-based plant will process 20 tons per day of mixed biomass and/or lipid oilseed based feedstock into a variety of value-added products, including cellulosic sugars and methyl esters.

"In April of 2012, we closed a first round of financing, which helped us build, operate and prove our technology's efficacy for the conversion of cellulosic and other agricultural residues at a commercial scale," said Mark Tegen, CEO of Inventure Renewables.  "This latest round will let us demonstrate the viability of our technology for larger, commercial scale operations as we move to the next generation of capacity."

This round was raised from the existing investors who participated in the initial round, including Wilmar International Limited. Strategic partner Trebet will invest an additional $8.2 million toward the joint venture.

"Inventure has excelled at proving its technology since our initial investment, and our decision to participate in this second tranche reflects our confidence in the company and its management," said Rahul Kale, Group Head of Oleochemicals and Biofuels at Wilmar International Limited.

"Based on the promising results generated from the initial pilot plant, we are excited to move forward with Inventure on continued scale up and commercialization of Inventure's ever-expanding platform of enabling technologies for the agricultural, biofuel and chemical industries," added John Smeltzer, CEO of Alchimia Inc. 

Wilmar International Limited (www.wilmar-international.com) is Asia's leading agribusiness group, and one of the largest listed companies by market capitalization on the Singapore Exchange. The company's business activities include oil palm cultivation, oilseeds crushing, edible oils refining, sugar, specialty fats, oleochemicals and biodiesel manufacturing and grains processing. Headquartered in Singapore, Wilmar has over 300 manufacturing plants and an extensive distribution network covering China, India, Indonesia and some 50 other countries to support a well-established processing and merchandising business. Wilmar also manufactures and distributes fertilizers and owns a fleet of vessels. The Group is backed by a multi-national workforce of approximately 90,000 people.

Inventure Renewables Inc. (www.inventurechem.com) develops patented and patent pending enabling process technology for the production of sugar from biomass which in turn enables the production of third generation green chemicals, synthetic jet fuel, biodiesel, and green gasoline from biomass. Feedstocks – such as palm waste, corn stover and cobs, cane bagasse, wood fiber, etc.—are processed quickly and efficiently, using a chemical catalytic process, to generate cellulosic sugars and upgrade lipid and protein agri-business by-products. 

Inventure International (Pte) Limited, a company incorporated in Singapore, is the holding company of Inventure Renewables. Inventure International focuses on the international development, commercialization and sales using Inventure Renewables' technologies on biomass materials sourced in Asia and international markets.

CONTACT:

Chris Santella
503-280-0445
[email protected]

SOURCE Inventure International (Pte) Limited