HEERLEN, The Netherlands - DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing unit of Royal DSM N.V., has made an equity investment in U.S.-based green chemistry company Segetis Inc.

 

Segetis Inc., based in Golden Valley, MN, has developed renewable chemistry that enables the use of non-food agricultural and forestry feedstock for production of sustainable materials. The company produces versatile, cost-effective chemical building blocks (monomers) called levulinic ketals, which can be used to make new classes of chemicals and plastics.

 

In February 2009, Segetis Inc. opened a semi-works production facility in Minnesota. At its full capacity, the facility produces up to 250,000 pounds per year of chemical and chemical building blocks sourced from renewable resources.

 

DSM Venturing joins Khosla Ventures and the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund, managed by Burrill & Co., in this financing round. The investment supports DSM’s ambitions to develop bio-based performance materials to meet customers’ growing needs for improved performance and environmental benefits at competitive costs.