Raven Biofuels International Corporation recently announced that it has secured an equity funding commitment totaling $10 million from Blackhawk Investments Ltd. and Clean Energy Holding Corp.
Blackhawk Investments Ltd. entered into a private placement of up to 8 million units for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $8 million on June 30. Clean Energy Holding Corp. entered into a private placement for up to 2 million units for aggregate proceeds of up to $2 million. Each unit is equivalent of one share of common stock and a one-share purchase warrant, which is exercisable for two years from closing at $1.50 per share.
The securities in the private placements have not been, or will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933. Therefore, the securities may not be sold in the U.S. without being registered or an applicable exemption from registration being filed.
Raven is on the forefront of developing technologies and processes that will transform cellulosic waste biomass into renewable fuels. The technology is based on a two-stage dilutive acid hydrolysis process. Step one consists of breaking down agricultural waste products, such as wood chips or sugarcane bagasse, into a primary sugar stream. Step two converts the sugar stream into a host of chemicals, including ethanol. As we all know, ethanol is one of the alternative fuels currently on the market. Raven hopes to make ethanol more readily available by reducing production costs to less than $1.00 per gallon.
Raven plans to invest $2 million back into its operations. The remaining $8 million of the proceeds will be used to finance its first cellulosic ethanol bio-refinery in Washington state. The cost to complete the refinery is estimated at around $30 million. Upon completion, Raven believes the plant will be able to convert 500 tons of wood waste per day. The annual production capacity is estimated at almost 11 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Raven’s technology of utilizing agricultural biomass is novel, but makes use of resources that would otherwise be wasted. As ethanol is already an accepted form of alternative fuel, Raven’s technology is expected to only increase the availability and reduce the cost of the fuel.
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