Lehigh Technologies Inc., which makes technology for
reusing old tires, has raised another $16 million in venture capital that will
be used for geography expansion and additional research and development.
The investors include Leaf Clean Energy, Kleiner Perkins
Caufield Byers, Index Ventures, and NGP
Energy Technology Partners.
"We believe Lehigh’s approach breaks existing
paradigms of how we perceive post-consumer and post-industrial materials,
fundamentally changing how they can be used in the production of new
products," says Ellen Pao of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and a Lehigh
board member.
Founded in 2003, Lehigh makes an engineered rubber powder
that can offset a significant percentage of the oil needed to manufacture many
synthetic rubber and other petrochemical products. It does this by grinding
rubber from recycled scrap tiers into an ultrafine power.
It takes about 9.5 gallons of petroleum to
make the various petrochemicals that comprise just one tire. Every pound of
Lehigh’s material saves nearly a gallon of oil and accounts for about half the
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of traditional alternatives.
Lehigh’s customers include some of the largest tire
manufacturers in the world and more than 100 million tires have been made, so
far, using the material. It is shooting for a goal of 1 billion.
"A key element that motivates industrial customers
to buy sustainable materials is to provide a solution that does not sacrifice
quality, safety, cost, or performance of the end product," says Leaf Clean
Energy Vice President Matthew Fedors. "Throughout
its market segments, Lehigh’s technology position allows the company to achieve
this goal."
For more on Lehigh Technologies’ approach to reusing rubber:
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