Ze-gen Secures $2.25 Million In Series A Financing For Renewable Energy Generation

Cleantech company on target for demonstration facility in early 2007

Boston, MA — Ze-gen, Inc., a privately-held company providing advanced gasification technology to convert industrial and municipal waste streams into synthetic natural gas and low emissions electrical energy, has announced that it has secured $2.25 million in Series A financing from a syndicate of investors. This financing event, led by Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), will be used to help the company construct and operate a proof-of-concept facility in New Bedford, MA.

"If Ze-gen's technology demonstration is successful, this could represent a very significant development in solid waste management and renewable energy generation," commented Jerry Bird, Vice President of MTDC. "Ze-gen offers the potential to position Massachusetts as a leader in advanced technologies for thoughtful solid waste management and make a significant impact on greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy generation in this region and throughout the world."

Ze-gen was formed in 2004 to develop and deploy efficient gasification systems that convert municipal solid waste (MSW) and construction and demolition waste (C&D) into clean energy. In the United States alone more than 350 million tons of MSW and C&D are created each year, with 300 million tons ending up in landfills. Once there, this waste converts into approximately 580 million tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas, of which 50 percent is methane, a substance 22 times more harmful to the environment than CO2 itself. Landfills are the largest man-made source of methane gas emissions and account for over 8 percent of total greenhouse gas generation. Ze-gen represents a non-incineration based opportunity to create clean power with a virtually limitless supply of free fuel.

"We are thrilled with the vote of confidence this funding represents," noted Ze-gen President & CEO, Bill Davis. "The market for small, modular, and non-incineration based technology which converts waste into distributed and clean energy is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This funding is an important milestone toward leadership of this emerging market."

SOURCE: Ze-gen, Inc.