Viridos

Viridos (previously Synthetic Genomics), specializes in optimizing microalgae to produce oil for biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD). In 2017, Viridos announced breakthrough research in a modified algae strain that more than doubled the fuel content without significantly inhibiting growth, which had been a key challenge in the commercial scalability of the technology. In November 2022, the company extracted oil, both with dry and wet processes at an efficiency of over 90%. 

Viridos uses sunlight and atmospheric CO2 to grow algae in saltwater on marginal land.  The company estimates that the productivity of its engineered microalgae will be 20x times greater than any existing terrestrial crop.

Viridos grows its algal strains at its California Advanced Algal Facility (CAAF) in an outdoor testbed.

Key customers and partnerships

Since 2009, ExxonMobil and Viridos have been in a partnership to jointly develop biofuels from algae. ExxonMobil and Viridos aim to produce around 10,000 barrels of algae biofuel per day by 2025.

Funding and financials 

In March 2023, Viridos raised USD 25 million in a Series A equity funding round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. This included a USD 5 million investment from United Airlines through its UAV Sustainable Flight Fund to support the production of SAF. The company intended to its Series A funding to further increase algae oil productivity to reach commercially deployable levels. 

Prior to this, in January 2023, the company was awarded USD 2 million from the US Department of Energy to scale up its pilot facilities.