Houston, Texas-based Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) announced its participation in the latest funding round for Enerkem Inc., a waste-to-biofuels company.
Enerkem’s proprietary thermo-chemical technology helps convert waste
materials into biofuels such as ethanol. Its technology is able to
process diverse carbon-based feedstocks, including sorted municipal
solid waste, construction and demolition wood, as well as agricultural
and forest residues.
The company
was founded in 2000 and currently operates two plants in Canada: a
pilot facility in Sherbrooke and a commercial-scale demonstration plant
in Westbury. It will soon start the construction of its
waste-to-biofuels plant in Edmonton, Canada and is currently developing
a similar project in Mississippi, for which it was awarded US$50
million in funding by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Enerkem raised C$53.8 million from existing institutional investors, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures and BDR Capital as well as from new investors, Waste Management and Cycle Capital. The new funds raised will be used to support Enerkem’s growth plan, including initiating construction in Edmonton. Morgan Stanley acted as Enerkem’s agent.
The amount of Waste Management’s investment was not disclosed.
The investment in Enerkem complements Waste Management’s comprehensive waste services in the areas of recycling, landfill, waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy. This investment will also help move Waste Management toward meeting three of its sustainability goals: doubling its renewable energy production and tripling the amount of recyclables processed by 2020, and investing in emerging technologies for managing waste.
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