Agrisoma Biosciences closes $8 million in Series A funding

In Canada, Agrisoma Biosciences announced the first closing of its Series A financing round, expected to total $8 million through 2014. The funding round was led by Cycle Capital Management and included participation of BDC Venture Capital, one of Agrisoma’s current equity investors.

The funding is in support of Agrisoma’s further commercialization of Resonance® Carinata, the world’s first non-food crop that produces oil uniquely suited for biofuel production. Resonance Carinata is under commercial production in the USA and Canada and the oil has been used in the production of biodiesel, renewable diesel and biojet fuels. Resonance Carinata was used to fuel the world’s first 100% renewable biojet fuel flight that took place in Canada.

The production of Resonance Carinata is being expanded to multiple locations globally to provide a supply of sustainable, non-food oils for meeting the demand for sustainable biofuels. Resonance Carinata is certified sustainable by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the global standard and certification scheme for sustainable biofuels. It is one of only four crops in the world to achieve that status. Resonance Carinata meal has recently received regulatory approval as an animal feed, further underscoring the value of this crop to meet the increasing demand for renewable fuel and providing meal for the production of livestock. Additionally, Resonance Carinata is grown on semi-arid farmland, creating new economic and production opportunities for growers.