Algenol nets $25 million

FORT MYERS - Algenol secured $25 million in additional financing from Mexican renewable energy firm BioFields, the company announced.

The equity financing is the second in recent years by BioFields, which provided $40 million to Algenol in 2014. “We are very pleased to expand our investment into Algenol,” says Alejandro Gonzalez, founder of BioFields, in a statement. “This technology has the best chance of actually reducing carbon emissions while producing cheap fuel in the process.”

Founded by Canadian energy entrepreneur Paul Woods in 2006, Algenol has begun a pilot commercial plant to produce fuels such as ethanol from algae on its campus in Fort Myers and it recently launched a demonstration project in India.

Including the $25 million from BioFields, the total investment in Algenol so far has totaled $260 million since its founding. Major investors include Reliance Industries, a Fortune Global 500 company based in Mumbai, India. In addition, the company has secured grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and Lee County.