NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Energy technology-focused private equity company Altira Group said today that it has made an investment in Louisville, Colo.-based Evolutionary Genomics to fund development of biofuel feedstocks with improved yields.
Evolutionary Genomics has a gene discovery platform that is used to screen gene adaptations in biofuel feedstocks such as corn, switchgrass, sugar cane, algae, and soybeans. The firm aims to find information that could be used to help improve traits related to yield, such as grains per plant, grain weight, yield per acre, biomass, drought resistance, and disease resistance.
Altira did not disclose the amount of the funding, but said in a release today that its average initial financing is between $5 million and $10 million.
Altira made the investment from the Altira technology Fund V, which is a $176 million venture capital fund focused on energy technologies.