Date: Feb 01, 2012 Author: press release Source: Reuters (
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BASF Venture Capital GmbH is investing $5 million in Solidia Technologies, Inc. as part of a $27 million financing round. The current round of financing also included Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, BP Ventures and Bright Capital, the venture arm of RU-COM Corporation.
Solidia Technologies enables sustainable production of a new generation of building and construction materials. Concrete and building materials made with this novel technology have excellent physical properties, lower life-cycle costs and smaller environmental footprints than concrete. The technology uses CO2 as a reactant,consuming and sequestering this greenhouse gas during production.
"The materials produced by this process will have disruptive potential in the building and construction industry. They have better mechanical properties than traditional concrete and show no shrinkage, high compressive strength and low permeability," said Dr. Pulakesh Mukherjee, Principal at BASF Venture Capital. The sustainable production process used by Solidia Technologies enables production of fully cured concrete pieces within just a few hours.
"The global building and construction market offers a significant opportunity for this innovative technology. Our process has been developed in the pilot scale to date and BASF can add a lot of value with its knowledge of chemistry and process engineering. We are optimistic that joining forces will enable us to target and rapidly deploy scalable applications," said Thomas Schuler, Chief Executive Officer of Solidia Technologies.
Products manufactured with Solidia's process are stronger and more durable than traditional building materials. As a result, cement manufacturers can produce low environmental impact products with existing equipment for the concrete industry.This new class of materials can then be used both indoor and outdoor for a variety of products, ranging from pavers to structural precast concrete.
About Solidia Technologies
Solidia Technologies, Inc. is a rapidly growing company founded in 2008 to capitalize on proprietary and patented advances in materials innovation. The company has developed a proprietary process for creating a both a binder that requires significantly less energy to produce than Portland Cement and a concrete product that uses CO2 as a reactant to provide strength rather than water. This innovation serves as the basis for a wide range of possible applications in the building and construction industries. The company is headquartered in Piscataway (New Jersey) and has 28 employees.
About BASF Venture Capital
BASF Venture Capital GmbH was established in 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF Future Business GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the aim of exploring new growth potentials based on investment in startup companies and funds.
About BASF
BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. We combine economic success, social responsibility and environmental protection. Through science and innovation we enable our customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and system solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring healthy food and nutrition and helping to improve the quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF posted sales of about 63.9 billion euros in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of 2010. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
