Coal-to-Methane Via Bacteria Company Gets $75.9M

Microbes, clean coal, underground digestion. How could you not like Luca Technologies.

The company—which has discovered a strain of microorganisms that can convert coal into methane—has raised $75.9 million in a third round of financing, according to VentureWire. (subscription required.). In a nutshell, the microorganisms eat coal and methane comes out the other end, which is really the same thing that occurs when cows eat grass. Burning methane is cleaner than burning coal. Thus, Luca’s bugs can cut down the fumes and pollution from what is probably the inevitable continued consumption of coal.

The microbes can also eat dirty shale oil. They are anaroebic too.

This sort of biogenic production of methane is already taking place underground naturally, the company has said in published papers. Luca’s goal is to commercialize and standardize it. Microbes are the central players in a number of clean tech companies: Amyris, Genomatica, Cambrios, ZeaChem, Mascoma.

Cleanliness, however, is dependent on two factors: Can Luca get its microbes to make coal inside underground coal seams so they can avoid mining and can Luca capture the other gases that come out of the microorganisms?

In a lot of ways, Luca resembles Laurus Energy, which recently got money from Mohr Davidow. Laurus digs holes into the earth and converts coal to synthetic gases underground. No mining and dangerous gases are captured. Laurus, however, uses industrial equipment and not microbes.