By Mara Lemos Stein

Waste-to-energy and biochemicals company Blue Marble Energy Corp. raised about $1 million in a Series A round of financing, with an eye to getting another $1 million as it achieves some milestones in coming months, a company executive told Clean Technology Insight.

Seattle-based Blue Marble developed an anaerobic process to convert algae, grass clippings and food waste into gases to power generators, and into biochemicals for the food and beverage industries, said Kelly Ogilvie, Blue Marble’s chief executive, in an interview.

The lead investor in the Series A round was individual investor Rajiv Shah, who gets a seat on the company’s board. Ogilvie said that Shah is involved in bottling and distributing sodas in eastern Africa. A regulatory filing on Blue Marble’s fund-raising lists an address in Nairobi, Kenya, for Shah.

Ogilvie’s vision for Blue Marble is for the company to generate bioenergy as a by-product of its green chemicals’ manufacture, he said. The company is currently working with “a global food manufacturer and a local beverage manufacturer” on flavorings and fragrances that are made from organic waste.

“These will be certified organic flavors, which allow our commercial partners to have a different conversation with their customers…it’s carbon-neutral chemicals, no toxic byproducts,” he said.

The company, which relaunched as Blue Marble two years ago, expects that strategic partnerships with food and beverage industries’ companies will be the source of further funding for development of its technology. Otherwise, it will seek more venture capital funding.

Posted with Permission by Dow Jones Financial Information Services.