By Paul Baker

Fort Collins-based Solix Biofuels Inc. said Tuesday it has raised $10.5 million in its first round of outside funding and has an additional $5 million pledged to build a demonstration algae biofuel plant near Durango.

The startup company, a spin-off from Colorado State University, uses algae to produce liquid fuel for use in airplanes and diesel trucks. Solix had been pursuing a project with New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins.

Funding comes from I2BF Venture Capital, a London-
based venture capital firm focused on biofuels, and Bohemian Investments,  private investment company based in Fort Collins; as well as Southern Ute Alternative Energy LLC, an Ignacio.-based company that manages alternative energy investments for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; Valero Energy Corp., the largest U.S. oil refinery operator, based in San Antonio, Texas, and Infield Capital, a Boulder investment fund focused on emerging “clean tech” companies.

Solix said the biofuel pilot plant will be located on a 10-acre
site on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in the southwest
part of the state. It will be constructed in two phases, with
the first to be completed in 12 to 18 months and consisting of
four acres of photo-bioreactors for growing algae, and one acre for a lab facility.

After the first phase has been completed, Solix will build an
additional five-acre expansion that will enable the pilot facility to produce at commercial scale.