LiveFuels Secures $10 Million in Series A Financing for Algae-to-Biocrude

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveFuels Inc., a privately funded developer of algae-to-biofuels, today announced the first close of its Series A financing. The low-eight figure round was led by David Gelbaum of the Quercus Trust, a major donor to conservation advocacy and environmental organizations.

"Given the immense role biofuels will play in our future energy supply, it is essential that we incorporate the ecological footprint of biomass sources into the fuel equation," said Gelbaum. "I believe that algae as a feedstock for biocrude can address issues of sustainability and scalability, and that the team at LiveFuels has the initiative, the experience and the business acumen to make algal biocrude a reality."

LiveFuels is collaborating with government scientists at U.S. national laboratories as well as key academic institutions to make algal biocrude competitive with fossil fuels by 2010. LiveFuels supplements its own development with a targeted division of labor that leverages specific partners' expertise while providing a centralized nexus to coordinate and fund the research and production process.

"This investment in LiveFuels is a sign of the growing role appropriate technology will play in protecting the environment," said Lissa Morgenthaler-Jones, CEO of LiveFuels. "Algae can produce more energy per acre than traditional biofuel crops, and can do it on marginal land. With this investment, LiveFuels combines the drive of a venture company with the resources and flexibility of a trust to explore an alternative source of energy that can reduce our dependence on foreign oil with minimal impact on food prices."

About LiveFuels, Inc.

Based in Menlo Park, California, LiveFuels is a privately-backed company working towards the goal of creating commercially competitive biocrude oil from algae by 2010. LiveFuels is partnering with top scientists, national laboratories and commercial institutions in order to speed the research and development process of creating algal biocrude. The company addresses the challenge of economically-competitive energy from algae by reducing cost at every step of the process. For more information, please visit http://www.livefuels.com/