Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Ze-gen sweeps up $20M in second funding round

By Efrain Viscarolasaga

Executives at Boston-based waste gasification technology developer Ze-gen Inc. report the company has closed a $20 million Series B round of funding.

The funds will be used to commercially deploy the company’s technology, which converts common waste, such as that from construction sites, to a synthetic gas that can be used as an energy source. The round included previous investors Flagship Ventures of Cambridge, VantagePoint Venture Partners of California and the Massachusetts Technology Development Corp. The round was led by Waroz Holding Co., a Middle East-based venture group and part of the Omzest Group of Oman.

The funding brings the company’s total raised to more than $28 million, including $2.5 million in venture debt received from California-based Pinnacle Ventures LLC in early 2008.

Founded in mid-2004, Ze-gen’s technology uses high temperatures to convert municipal trash into burnable gas with virtually zero emissions, according to officials.

Ze-gen launched a large-scale demonstration facility for its technology in New Bedford in July 2007 and began testing operations in October of that year. The funding is expected to accelerate the research and development at that facility, as well as its commercialization efforts, according to a company statement. Officials report the company has begun commercialization efforts and plans to operate full-scale commercial facilities in the U.S. by 2012.