Sumitomo Corp Of Americas Makes Strategic Investment In Cemvita To Accellerate Industrial Decarbonization

NEW YORK, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) announced today its participation in a series A funding round for Cemvita Factory (Cemvita), the leading provider of carbon negative synthetic biology solutions for the energy and mining industries. As a major owner and operator of businesses within the industrial sector, SCOA is strategically investing in companies like Cemvita to accelerate decarbonization within these industries. SCOA joins a consortium of investors in this funding round, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industry America.

"Identifying prescient solutions to the world's challenges is core to our mission. This partnership will produce innovations that help our company and our customers meet ambitious sustainability goals while building new opportunities," said Toshiya Kitamura, GM and SVP of SCOA's Chemicals and Electronics Group.

The nascent but growing field of synthetic biology applies the tools of engineering and computing to biology. It has been used for a decade to optimize the work of enzymes and cells with the goal, for example, of accelerating the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines. Cemvita is among the first to employ this technology to support heavy industry in fighting climate change.

"We are excited to have Cemvita supported by strong corporate partners like SCOA," said Cemvita Factory Co-Founder and CEO Moji Karimi. "This capital will accelerate our growth and scale our carbon negative solutions to fight climate change."

With a growing portfolio of micro-organisms that capture and convert CO2 into chemicals and alternative fuels, Cemvita helps oil and gas companies decarbonize while transforming their byproducts into valuable feedstocks, a crucial step in building a circular carbon economy. The technology is also used in climate-smart mining to reduce the environmental footprint of mining while meeting rising demand for key metals.  According to the World Bank, ambitious climate action places significant demand on mining. Lithium production, for example, must scale approximately 500 percent by 2050.

This is just one of several climate-focused investments and partnerships SCOA has made this year to support sustainability efforts within the industrial space.  Earlier this month, SCOA made an investment through its VC arm, Presidio Ventures, in Lilac Solutions, a company developing lithium extraction technology that is significantly more effective, faster to deploy, less expensive and more sustainable than conventional lithium production methods. In addition, SCOA announced a sales agreement this summer with EcoVap, a leader in wastewater elimination technology that is more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable for the planet. EcoVap's technology will directly impact how wastewater is displaced at mine sites and other industrial applications.

This latest investment in Cemvita demonstrates SCOA's strategy to pursue the financing and development of business models that support the decarbonization and sustainability of the planet and society as a whole.

About Sumitomo Corporation of Americas
Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York City, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA) has eight offices in major U.S. cities. SCOA is the largest subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, one of the world's leading traders of goods and services. As an integrated business enterprise, the firm has emerged as a major organizer of multinational projects, an expediter of ideas, an important international investor and financier, and a powerful force for distribution of products and global communications through a network of offices worldwide. Its core business units include Tubular Products, Environment and Infrastructure, Steel and Non Ferrous Metals, Transportation and Construction Systems, Chemicals and Electronics, Media and IOT Applications, Real Estate, Mineral Resources and Energy, and Food. For more information, visit www.sumitomocorp.com.

About Cemvita Factory
Cemvita Factory, Inc, is on a mission to reverse climate change by leveraging synthetic biology. This is done by leveraging the biomimicry of natural processes to sustainably produce chemicals and polymers. Additionally, Cemvita's synthetic biology platform is used to develop and optimize low carbon bioprocesses for heavy industry such as mining and oil and gas. Visit www.cemvitafactory.com for more information.

SOURCE Sumitomo Corporation of Americas