Google Ventures, along with a handful of other organizations, have backed Cool Planet with an additional $100 million. The relatively new company, which focuses on clean biofuels, says that its process is capable of adding less CO2 to the air than it takes in.
The fuels produced in Cool Planet’s process are already capable of being added to current fuel sources while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which many scientists say are a major component of climate change.
As with other biofuel technologies, Cool Planet uses natural waste products like corn cobs to attain energy that can then be used to power cars.
Our biochar products sequester carbon and deliver transformative benefits to industries as diverse as agriculture, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Our technology allows us to build smaller, significantly less expensive facilities closer to biomass feedstock, so we can expand rapidly, achieve lower scale-up risk and continuously innovate and improve with each distributed facility. – Cool Planet
Cool Planet built its first major facility in Louisiana last year and will partly use the $100 million to build an additional two locations in the same state.
Alongside Google Ventures, BP, SheaVentures, Exelon, and GE, are all behind the new biofuel company.
Biofuel companies are in a difficult field and for many, losses are the name of the game. So, Google Ventures and other major companies getting behind Cool Planet means a lot.
One of the main ways that Cool Planet separates itself from other companies in the field is that it is building smaller facilities that are close to fuel sources rather than large, central facilities.
We have learned a lot from the mistakes made by our predecessors and are taking a fresh approach. f you don’t have to transport the biomass a long way to the facility, you can really cut both costs and your carbon footprint. – Howard Janzen, CEO, Cool Planet
Question – Why do you think Google Ventures chose to get behind an initiative like Cool Planet?
Summary: Google Ventures and other organizations have provided $100 million in funding to Cool Planet, a company that creates more sustainable biofuels.
image credit: coolplanet