Bioenergy Development Co. isn't taking its time.
The Columbia, Md.-based energy company has raised $106 million in new equity funding, the company announced Thursday. This appears to be its first institutional investment round.
The private equity investment came from Newlight Partners, a fund spun out from the Strategic Investments Group at New York's Soros Fund Management. It's the state's largest funding round so far this year.
BDC plans to use the investment to build more North American anaerobic digestion facilities, which transform organic waste into renewable gas and a soil additive using microorganisms. It also used some of the capital to acquired 20-year-old Italian energy company BTS Biogas.
"By building relationships with cities and towns throughout the United States, we are confident that this proven technology will become an essential tool in reducing pollution from waste and fighting climate change as the world aims to transition to a low-carbon economy," BDC founder and CEO Shawn Kreloff said in a statement.
BDC's technology platform breaks down organic waste typically headed for incineration or landfills, or left as pollution, reducing landfill waste and carbon emissions. The company works with cities operating multiple organic waste streams and enterprises that produce large amounts of waste. It runs more than 200 facilities in seven countries, mostly in Europe.
The fresh funding is primarily earmarked for the firm's North American expansion, which will start with its first U.S. digestion facility being built in Jessup, Md. It will have capacity to process 100,000 tons per year, and will be co-located with the Maryland Food Center Authority, a major food distribution hub.
BDC is planning to add at least two more processing facilities in Maryland, along with one in New Jersey and another in New York.
For now, Bioenergy has about 120 employees, including 15 in Maryland. Fifteen or more local jobs will likely be added for the new facility.
