SG Biofuels completes US$17M Series B financing, will use proceeds to expand research and development, advance commercialization efforts, scale global operations

Nevin Barich

SAN DIEGO , January 17, 2012 (press release) – SG Biofuels, Inc. (SGB), a bioenergy crop company developing elite hybrid seeds of Jatropha as a low-cost feedstock for biodiesel, bio jet fuel and specialty chemicals, has completed a $17 million Series B financing led by Thomas, McNerney & Partners with participation from Finistere Ventures and current investors Flint Hills Resources, LLC and Life Technologies Corporation.

SGB also announced that Pratik Shah, Ph.D., partner at Thomas, McNerney, and Jerry Caulder, Ph.D., managing director for Finistere Ventures, have joined the company’s board of directors.

SGB will use the proceeds to expand research and development, advance commercialization efforts and scale global operations.

“We are very pleased to complete this financing and are privileged to add Thomas, McNerney and Finistere Ventures with their considerable track records and expertise to our team,” said Kirk Haney, president and chief executive officer at SGB. “The funding comes at a time when we’re experiencing significant commercial adoption of our hybrid Jatropha and will be instrumental as we continue to expand our global footprint.”

Jatropha is a subtropical, non-edible energy crop that that can be effectively grown on marginal lands considered undesirable for food crops. SGB is using molecular breeding and biotechnology to significantly improve yields and reduce input costs, and has developed proprietary hybrid seed production technology enabling the large-scale deployment of higher yielding and uniform planting material adapted to unique growing conditions around the world.

SGB has signed customers for the deployment of 250,000 acres of Jatropha using its JMax™ hybrid seeds. This includes an agreement with JETBIO, leader of a multi-stakeholder initiative including Airbus, the Inter-American Development Bank, and TAM Airlines, to deploy 75,000 acres in Brazil for the production of bio jet fuel.

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