Mendel Biotech raises fourth round for biofuels
Hayward, Calif.’s Mendel Biotechnology, an agricultural biotech, raised an undisclosed sum in a fourth round of funding, VentureWire reports (subscription required). The funding accompanied a development deal with the U.K. energy giant BP; Monsanto, a major developer of genetically modified seeds and a longtime Mendel partner, also participated.
The BP deal centers on the development of new genetically modified strains of grass that could be used to produce cellulosic ethanol. The production of ethanol from grasses and similar cellulosic sources should theoretically be more efficient than existing corn-based derivations, since the process utilizes the entire plant and not just its grains.
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About the Author, David P. Hamilton
David Hamilton has been writing for VentureBeat LifeScience since April 2007. He formerly spent 14 years as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in its San Francisco and Tokyo bureaus. Prior to that, he spent several years as a reporter at Science Magazine and as a reporter/researcher for the New Republic, both in Washington.