DSM invests in green chemistry company Segetis, Inc.

01-08-2010: DSM Venturing, the corporate venturing unit of Royal DSM N.V., announced that it has made an equity investment in US-based green chemistry company Segetis, Inc. Financial details of the investment will not be disclosed.

Segetis, Inc., based in Golden Valley (Minnesota, United States), has developed renewable chemistry which enables the use of non-food agricultural and forestry feedstock for production of sustainable materials. The company produces versatile, cost-effective chemical building blocks (monomers) called levulinic ketals which can be used to make new classes of chemicals and plastics with improved health and environmental footprint as well as novel performance attributes.

In February 2009 Segetis, Inc. opened a semi-works production facility in Minnesota. At its full capacity, the facility produces up to 250,000 pounds per year of chemical and chemical building blocks sourced from renewable resources.

DSM Venturing joins Khosla Ventures and the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund (managed by Burrill & Company) in this financing round. The investment supports DSM's ambitions to develop bio-based performance materials to meet customers' growing needs for improved performance and environmental benefits at competitive costs.

Babette Pettersen, Vice President New Business Development for DSM's Performance Materials Cluster comments: “Segetis’'technology platform perfectly fits our vision to increase functionality of materials through sustainable chemistry. We look forward to combining the knowledge of both companies to develop bio performance materials that offer both novel functionality and reduced carbon footprint.”