Sustainability leader Genomatica<\/a> closed $118M in Series C funding to accelerate the global commercialization and expansion of sustainable materials, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tons per year. Leading life science investor Novo Holdings led the round, with additional participation by existing and new investors including Viking Global Investors, Casdin Capital and others. Genomatica will use the investment to scale production for its portfolio of products and continue investing in new technologies to amplify the impact of sustainable materials across a range of industries.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Genomatica replaces widely-used chemicals and materials, traditionally derived from petroleum fossil fuels, with plant-based alternatives that are cost-competitive, equivalent in performance and can reduce environmental impact by up to 93% compared to fossil fuel-based production. These molecularly identical replacements can be used in a wide range of products that touch the lives of billions of consumers, including clothes, cosmetics, packaging and carpet. The financing follows the recent news that Cargill and HELM are building a commercial production plant<\/a> based on Genomatica\u2019s technology. This plant, the second to rely on Genomatica\u2019s technology (with the first one built by Novamont) will triple global production capacity for just one of the ingredients made with the company\u2019s technologies to 100,000 tons per year \u2014 distinctively positioning Genomatica and its larger portfolio to deliver on the market appeal of more sustainable solutions across multiple sectors at these large commercial scales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSustainability is a must-have for consumers and for increasingly ESG-focused investors, making it a business imperative for brands,\u201d said Anders Bendsen Spohr, Senior Partner at Novo Holdings, which has assets of \u20ac61 billion across a portfolio of 120 life sciences companies. \u201cWe see a massive opportunity for biological manufacturing to help industries meet this demand for sustainable products. Genomatica is creating more sustainable value chains with both a breadth of partnerships and products that it is distinctively executing on at commercial scales that can deliver the kinds of impact that today\u2019s climate crisis requires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n