Ze-gen, Inc., which has developed commercially viable gasification technology for converting waste streams into synthesis gas, today announced that it has raised $20 million in Series B financing. The funds will be used to commercially deploy Ze-gen's technology. Omar Zawawi Establishment (Omzest Group of Oman, a leading Middle East based global industrial conglomerate) through one of its group companies called Waroz Holding Company, led the financing with existing investors, including Flagship Ventures, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation also participating.
"This financing further validates Ze-gen's industry leading technology, which offers an environmentally sustainable solution to both solid waste management and distributed energy generation," said Jim Matheson, General Partner of Flagship Ventures and Chairman of the Board at Ze-gen. "We are pleased to have Waroz join the Board as they represent the type of partner which can help drive Ze-gen¹s technology into the global markets," added Matheson.
The Series B Round will fund the acceleration of Ze-gen's commercialization efforts as well as support next generation research and development activities at the Company's demonstration facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts. "The urgent need for advanced solutions for dealing with global waste continues to grow," said Bill Davis, Ze-gen's CEO and President. "This support of world-class partners will help us accelerate our commercialization efforts," stated Davis.
Mr. K S Cheema, Executive Director of the Omzest Group, stated, "We are proud to be part of the company which is endeavoring to help solve solid waste management and shortage of energy problems simultaneously. We truly believe that Ze-gen has the technology, capability and vision to achieve its objectives and we wish to participate in that vision. We are confident of the success of Ze-gen's technology."
Solid waste is a global problem with widespread environmental effects. In the United States alone, over 300 million tons of mundane waste streams are landfilled each year, creating vast quantities of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the atmosphere and demanding evermore open land to convert to landfills. Ze-gen is at the forefront of global efforts to translate the latent energy content in these waste streams into a clean, renewable energy source using environmentally superior conversion technology. Ze-gen was recognized by AlwaysOn as one of the GoingGreen Top 100 Winners for 2007 and 2008. Inclusion in the GoingGreen 100 signifies major developments in the creation of new business opportunities in the green technology industries. Furthermore, AlwaysOn named Ze-gen the winner of the "Resource Recovery and Waste Management" category in 2008. Ze-gen was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and other industry experts spanning the globe, based on the Company's game-changing technology and market value. Ze-gen has begun commercialization efforts of its LMG technology and plans to operate full-scale commercial facilities in the US by 2012.