With ethanol now getting a bad rap for its energy inefficiency and for using up crops that could otherwise be used for food, farmers are looking for alternatives to make energy from crops other than corn. A company called
Chromatin Inc. might be able to help.
The Chicago-based company has developed mini-chromosome technology that allows it to introduce multiple genes into a plant cell, helping to reduce the time and cost required to develop crop-based products, including medicines, biomaterials, textiles and nutritionally-improved foods. But its technology also is being used in the bioenergy market, targeting crops like switchgrass,
miscanthus (another grass), sorghum and sugarcane, where the addition of certain traits can improve crop and sugar yield, and thus improve the output of the plants used for energy.
Chromatin on Wednesday
announced it has raised $12.4 million in a Series C round led by Quantitative Financial Strategies Inc., with participation from new investor Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund and its existing investors, Burrill & Co., Venture Investors, Unilever Technology Ventures, Foragen Technology Ventures and Illinois Ventures.
Chromatin said it will use the money to aggressively enter the bioenergy feedstock market. The company raised a total of $12 million previously.
-- David ShabelmanSee Dec. 3 press release from Chromatin
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