$210 million financing by global Investors brings breakthrough technology to California
Global cleantech leader Aymium, the top producer of renewable biocarbon products, just closed $210 million of financing to build a biocarbon production facility in Williams, California. To be completed in 2025, the facility will continuously process biocarbon to replace coal in power generation. It is the first such facility in the world.
“We are excited to have the support from such an experienced group of investors from Asia, North America and Europe,” said James Mennell, CEO of Aymium. “These groups share a profound commitment to decarbonization and have come together to advance this technology that will create a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for many years.”
Aymium’s renewable product is created through a non-combustion process that converts waste biomass to high-purity biocarbon. Once online the facility will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 500,000 metric tons annually. This is equivalent to removing 120,000 cars from the road annually.
Critical to the decarbonization process is the biocarbon products immediately replace fossil coal without requiring any plant investment or process modification. Such a technological accomplishment is only one part of the story—the other is the group of financial backers behind entrepreneur and innovator Mennell.
Mennell brings 30-plus years in the energy, bio-products, and environmental sectors with companies that include Cargill, Koch Industries, 3M, and GE. He also founded, led, and grew bio-based product, energy, and environmental companies. He has over 80 issued patents for bioproduct and process technologies, adding to Aymium’s over 500 issued or pending patents around the world.
The international group of investors includes Hokuriku Electric Power Company, Nippon Steel Trading, and Aymium. ECP ForeStar and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through its Green Credit Fund provide senior debt via green bonds. Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality (“JICN”) and Aymium hold the company’s subordinated debt.
Reiner Boehning, Managing Partner of ECP ForeStar, foresees Aymium’s innovative technology impacting industries and the importance of the funders in this inaugural project.
“Aymium, together with its partners, has developed a proven production process that is an important building block to help decarbonize industrial processes, like steel making, and power generation”, said Boehning. “We are thrilled to be part of the investor group that finances the construction of Aymium’s next production facility in Williams, California.”
The construction of the Aymium facility highlights the scale of climate change solutions being undertaken and the need for sizeable financial backing to get a new technology out of the gate. The current project entailed a Minnesota-headquartered global environmental tech company building a plant in California backed by investors from Asia, North America, and Europe and financiers based in the U.S. and Denmark.
Aymium’s announcement follows 280 Earth’s public statement reporting the completion of its Direct Air Capture facility based in Oregon that will remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The captured CO2 will be permanently stored underground or used as a feedstock for industrial uses such as synthetic fuels, carbon-negative concrete, or food production. 280 has the backing of top investors that include Builders VC, Gideon Yu, and Alphabet, Inc., having recently closed a $50 Million Series B funding round.
The innovative decarbonization technologies of Aymium and 280 Earth have in common the backing of sizeable-dedicated investors supporting entrepreneurs who have climate tech expertise.
