I interviewed Imperium Renewables chairman and CEO Martin Tobias last year for a story I wrote about ambitious startups trying to build billion dollar businesses. Tobias was the character in the story employing a strategy of going away from the herd with a non-IT company. Others were Rich Barton at Zillow who was targeting a huge market and David Moll of Webroot who was trying to get to a $1 billion by raising more than $100 million in venture funding.

Now, we can add Tobias to Moll's column; an entrepreneur trying to develop a large independent company by raising a bucket load of money.

Imperium said yesterday it has raised $113 million in venture funding from Ardsley Partners, Attractor Investment Management, BlackRock Investment Management, Capricorn Management, Ecofin, Robeco, Silver Point Capital, Southport Energy Alternatives, Stark Biodiesel Investments and Treaty Oak Capital Management. This second round was priced at more than ten times the valuation of Imperium's $10 million first round last year from Technology Partners, Nth Power and Vulcan Capital.

The deal is among the largest ever for alternative energy development, eclipsed only by a $200 million deal for ethanol technology developer Cilion from Khosla Ventures and Western Milling in the third quarter of 2006, and a $120 million deal for ethanol producer Altra from Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

For more on Imperium, see:
Dealscape
Yokayo Biofuels

Tags: imperium, energy, vc, venture+capital