Germ Farts Fuel – BP, Soros Fund invest in ethanol-making microbe

Oil giant BP and George Soros’ investment firm are putting millions of dollars into a company that has isolated a microbe that can create ethanol.

Qteros, formerly called SunEthanol, on Tuesday announced the $25 million series B round of funding, which was led by venture capital firm Venrock and Battery Ventures. Other investors were BP, Soros Fund Management, and first-round investors Long River Ventures and Camros Capital.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick–a clean-energy industry backer–announced the funding and new company name at the Fourth Conference on Clean Energy here Tuesday.

The basis of Qteros is the Q Microbe, a micro-organism discovered in the woods near the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts by University of Massachusetts professor and now Qteros chief scientist Susan Leschine.

Posted by Martin LaMonica

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