Mascoma Corporation, the leader in cellulosic biomass-to-ethanol development and production, recently announced it has raised $30 Million in its second round of Venture Capital Funding. General Catalyst Partners, with additional participation from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Vantage Point Venture Partners, Atlas Venture, and Pinnacle Ventures, as well as existing investors Khosla Ventures and Flagship Ventures, led the financing.

“We are entering a new and exciting phase,” said Mascoma President and Director Dr. Colin South. “With this second round of funding completed, we are focused on further developing our production technologies and processes to make fuel ethanol from cellulose a practical and sustainable reality for consumers.”

“Cellulosic biomass as a feedstock is key to the mass commercialization of ethanol,” said Hemant Taneja, principal, General Catalyst Partners. “Mascoma’s technology will provide the ability to move beyond corn-based ethanol and prove that a dependence upon foreign oil is far from inevitable.”

Today ethanol in the U.S. is made primarily from corn, a resource with multiple uses with limits to its long-term capacity. Ethanol made from cellulosic biomass (e.g. grass, wood, and various agricultural and forestry wastes) takes advantage of significantly lower raw material cost, more plentiful and varied feedstocks, and expands the potential for ethanol to blend with and displace gasoline with a cleaner, renewable, domestically-produced liquid fuel.

This round of funding represents a major milestone for Mascoma, and will be used for further research, the development and construction of new demonstration facilities, as well as designing commercial facilities for additional build out. “We are focused on developing further cost efficiencies in commercializing cellulosic ethanol, and attracting new partners in complimentary spaces,” said South.

“Mascoma is poised to transform the current model for ethanol production,” said Vinod Khosla, founder, Khosla Ventures. “Mascoma’s research and innovation in the field have solidified our leadership position in commercializing cellulosic ethanol technology, and we expect a great and positive impact on the industry and consumers alike.”

For more information, visit: www.mascoma.com/welcome/index.html