U.S.-based company Erg Bio, specialised in biomass valorisation, announced it has raised $6.5mn (approximately €6mn) in a seed funding round. The round was led by investment firm Azolla Ventures, with participation from Chevron Technology Ventures, Freeflow, Plug and Play, and several strategic angel investors. The funds will support the industrialisation of the Aspire™ technology platform, designed to convert agricultural and forestry residues into synthetic aviation fuels and industrially relevant bio-based chemicals.
A proprietary catalytic platform built for industrial scale
Developed from early-stage research at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Aspire™ technology uses a low-temperature pretreatment process combined with catalysis to convert cellulosic waste into high-value intermediates. Erg Bio states that its system can process over 30 different types of biomass, offering supply chain flexibility and reduced logistical risks.
According to Erg Bio Chief Executive Officer Vineet Rajgarhia, the funding will enable the company to reach advanced technical validation and transition to pilot-scale deployment. He stated that this development comes at a time when reinforcing national manufacturing capacity has become a strategic priority for U.S. energy security.
Strategic positioning in the U.S. bioindustrial sector
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Blake Simmons said the investment will also help expand the company’s engineering and bioprocessing teams. He considers the platform to be a step forward for the integration of underutilised feedstocks in industrial production.
Chevron Technology Ventures President Jim Gable noted that Erg Bio’s platform addresses a long-standing bottleneck in cellulosic ethanol production. He believes the process could unlock access to a largely untapped market.
For Azolla Ventures, participating in the round aligns with its strategy of supporting industrial-scale solutions with systemic potential. Co-founder Amy Duffuor stated the technology demonstrates how non-food biomass can be incorporated into a competitive value chain.
