Galten proves feasibility of new biodiesel product

The company has closed the initial phase of its first financing round at $10 million.

11 August 08 16:6, Merav Ankori

Israeli alternative energy start-up Galten Inc. has completed its R&D and product feasibility stages. The Kadima-based company has closed the initial phase of its first financing round at $10 million from a group headed by Xpert Financial Group co-CEOs Moti Maarvi and Ramy Ordan. Galten chairman and COO Doron Levi and CEO Shlomi Jonas founded the company in 2006.

Galten has utilized the seeds of the inedible Jatropha plant to produce biodiesel. Jatropha seeds have an oil content of 31-37%. The company says that the plant can be used instead of edible crops for first-generation biodiesel. It notes that ten dunam (2.5 acres) of edible crops such as corn or soy beans can produce one ton of oil, whereas the Jatropha variety developed by the company can produce three tons.

The pilot program that demonstrated the feasibility of the R&D was conducted on a 250-acre site in Ghana, and the company has a lease on 500,000 acres of land in an African country.

Levi said, "The money we've raised, and are raising now, is not intended for development, but for the company's current work needs." He added that the company already had a draft contract with two large companies for the sale of oil produced. One contract is with Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) (NYSE: PZE; Bovespa: PETR) and the other is with a European refinery.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 11, 2008

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