Sierra Energy Corporation, Davis, California, announces that it has closed a $33 million Series A investment round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and joined by Cox Investment Holdings Inc., BNP Paribas SA, Twynam Investments, Formica Ventures, and The March Fund I LP.
Since 2004, Sierra Energy has focused on the development of FastOx® gasification, a technology that turns trash into clean energy without burning. The funding will help Sierra Energy further develop and commercialize its FastOx gasification technology.
Sierra Energy’s FastOx technology uses oxygen and steam to heat waste to 4,000°F. At this temperature, waste breaks down at the molecular level, converting organic material into an energy-dense syngas and allowing the recovery of inorganic material as either a non-leaching stone or molten metal. Sierra Energy’s FastOx technology, which is modular and can be scaled to large size, does not produce any process emissions and all outputs are saleable, the company says.
“We are very excited to work with partners like Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Cox who invest in innovative technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale,” Sierra Energy’s CEO Mike Hart says. “The world is drowning in trash, which, when landfilled, is a leading generator of methane—a greenhouse gas that is 86 times more harmful to our climate than carbon dioxide. Our FastOx gasification technology can efficiently and cost-effectively convert this trash into electricity, hydrogen, renewable natural gas, diesel, ammonia, and a variety of other valuable end-products. When you combine our technology with recycling and other waste diversion strategies, you have the solution to the world’s waste problem as well as a valuable source of renewable energy.”
One of FastOx gasification’s greatest advantages, according to the company, is its ability to handle a variety of waste types, including municipal solid waste, plastics, medical waste, e-waste, tires, batteries, railroad ties and even hazardous wastes. This feedstock flexibility, and the capacity to turn produced syngas into a variety of high-value end products, makes FastOx gasification versatile and economically efficient to implement.