The Marriage of Russian GreenTech and California High Finance
Husband and wife company plays on a larger field than most start-ups
A mom-and-pop start-up of the highest order, Segetis recently secured $15 million in venture capital from a Silicon Valley company called Khosla Ventures. Segetis, the brainchild of Russian chemists Sergey and Olga Selifonova, hopes to develop renewable chemical products such as bioplastics, adhesives and solvents from agricultural and forestry crops and byproducts, replacing petrochemicals. In other words, they want your countertop and Windex bottle to be made from corn, not oil.
Segetis (Latin for “of the crop field”) is based in Minnesota and isn’t alone in its quest for bio-based chemical products. Other companies making forays into the field include Cereplast and Archer Daniels Midland.
“For decades, the production of many products of every day life from plastic table tops to shampoo bottles to car seat cushions has been dependent on fossil materials such as petroleum, gas and coal,” Sergey Selifonov said. “Green chemistry can deliver novel cost-competitive products that perform at par with or better than the existing petrochemical goods.”
And just as importantly, Segetis hopesit can do so competitively. Rising oil prices and new R&D developments hold promise for green chemistry materials that are competitive with petro-based materials in both functionality and price.
Said Vinod Khosla, one of the venture capitalists throwing $5 million behind Segetis this quarter, “Along with biofuels, green chemistry products may be the most important thing for global peace and welfare, for the climate crisis, and for consumers.”
Thursday, July 26, 2007
