Category: News

Jim Blome, President & CEO of Bayer CropScience L.P. and Head of Crop Protection for its North American region, has joined the Board of Directors of Montreal agriculture biotech company Inocucor Technologies, Inc. as Independent Non-Executive Chairman.

Inocucor’s President and CEO, Donald R. Marvin, a veteran of the North American bioscience industry, said Blome will bring perspective from his 25 years in mainstream agriculture to Inocucor’s board. The announcement of Blome’s board appointment coincides with his speaking engagement at the World Agri-Tech Investment Summit in San Francisco today.

“The range of potential customers for Inocucor’s products is huge,” said Marvin. “We want our board to reflect the perspective of all of agriculture, from the dedicated organic farmer to the mainstream production farmer who wants to increase yields from innovative technologies.”

Inocucor produces biological soil, seed and plant accelerators that improve yields, and promote healthier, more resilient soils and plants for organic farmers, greenhouse growers and mainstream production farmers. Its first-generation product, Inocucor™ Garden Solution® is approved as a water treatment in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, Canada and as a soil amendment in 23 U.S. states. It is OMRI Listed® for use in organic production.

Blome said his interest in Inocucor stems from its pioneering work in biologicals for agriculture that are available to farmers now.

“Everyone in agriculture is optimistic about the potential of these cutting-edge biologicals to help create healthier soils and offer additional solutions as part of best management practices for growers,” said Blome, who was raised on his family’s Hubbard, Iowa, farm and has worked in agriculture for 25 years. “Inocucor’s technology is unique, because it combines mixed groups of yeasts and bacteria, rather than a single species, into one solution.”

Inocucor was founded in 2007 by two Canadian scientists, Dr. Margaret Bywater–Ekegärd and Ananda Lynn Fitzsimmons, who combined their knowledge of the human and plant microbiomes to create biological soil and plant accelerators for agriculture. The company’s patented fermentation process for isolating and combining naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria is similar to that used in winemaking.

In its first two years of field trials for row crops at McGill University, Inocucor’s second-generation bio-stimulant product for large-scale agriculture produced yield increases of at least 10 percent. In a 2014 trial with Packman Broccoli by Clemson University’s Sustainable Agriculture Program, Inocucor-treated plants with its first generation product, Garden Solution, out-yielded untreated broccoli by 38 percent. Recent trials can be viewed at http://inocucor.com/science/field-studies

In early February 2015, Inocucor closed an interim round of financing from Cycle Capital Management with participation from Desjardins-Innovatech. Inocucor has co-product development partnerships underway with Axter Agrosciences Inc., one of Canada’s leading providers of foliar feeding crop solutions, and with McGill University’s Department of Plant Sciences.

About Jim Blome

James Blome is the President & CEO for Bayer CropScience LP and the Head of Crop Protection for the North American region. He grew up on a family farm in Hubbard, Iowa and is a graduate of Iowa State University. Blome has more than 25 years of leadership experience in agriculture. Prior to his current position at Bayer CropScience, he held executive positions at Valent (Sumitomo Chemical), Agriliance LLC, Agtrol International and Griffin LLC. He currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for CropLife America, the Sponsors Board of Directors for Future Farmers of America, the North Carolina Agricultural Biotechnology Advisory Council, MBA Executive Advisory Council for Iowa State University and as Chairman of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Foundation Board. He is the 2013 recipient of the Henry A. Wallace Award from Iowa State University for outstanding leadership and service to agriculture.

About Bayer CropScience

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 8,819 million (2013) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 22,400 and is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at: www.press.bayercropscience.com.

The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources announced that Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing partner of Cycle Capital Management (CCM), was chosen to be part of the first group of experts consulted for the development of Quebec’s next energy plan. This group is mandated to discuss the future of energy in Quebec and provide recommendations to improve Quebec’s leadership in efficiency and innovation in the energy sector.

Six other experts, from Quebec, United States and Norway, specialised in implementing energy productivity solutions and energy public services are also part of the group. Louis Carbonneau, Venture Partner at CCM and principal at Point Law Group is also part of the group.

There will be two other roundtables on renewable energy and hydrocarbons. Ultimately, the intention for this initiative is to stimulate discussion and to arrive at a consensus on a plan to extend Quebec’s leadership in renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy innovation.

To know more, subscribe to the public consultation or participate to the online discussion forum, go to www.Politiqueenergetique.gouv.qc.ca.

To watch the video recording http://webcasts.pqm.net/client/mrn/event/1346/fr/.

 

About Cycle Capital Management

A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.

With assets under management of $230 million, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and northeastern North America. Cycle Capital is composed of experienced investment professionals, strategic advisors, and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Master Group, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec.

Inocucor Technologies, Inc., the Montreal-based ag biotech company that develops sustainable soil, seed and plant accelerators for agriculture, today announced it has raised an interim round of investment capital from two of Canada’s leading financial groups.

Cycle Capital Management, a Montreal Cleantech venture capital fund that made its first investment in Inocucor in late 2013, led the round with participation from Desjardins Innovatech, Canada’s leading cooperative financial group with more than $200 billion in assets.

The investment will fund further commercialization of Inocucor’s patented technology, which uses fermentation similar to winemaking–employing up to an unprecedented 15 strains of compatible yeasts and bacteria–to produce powerful solutions that improve seed germination and increase crop yields.

“All eyes in agriculture are focused on biological, rather than chemical, solutions to improve yields and build healthy soils,” said Donald R. Marvin, president and CEO of Inocucor. “Cycle Capital and Desjardins are helping fund Inocucor’s important mission to create new sustainable products that help farmers feed a growing world population.”

Marvin said this investment sets the stage for the imminent launch of a major equity financing to accelerate the company’s commercialization of its second-generation cell-free bio-stimulation product targeting the production agriculture market. Proceeds from this financing may also be used to acquire complementary technologies and products currently under review by the company.

“Over the past year, we have watched Inocucor achieve several important technology and product development milestones and are very excited to continue our investment in the company to pursue its development,” said Andrée-Lise Méthot, founder and managing partner of Cycle Capital Management.

Roland Leger, Investment Manager for Desjardins Innovatech, said “We look for cutting-edge companies with game-changing technologies that have the capability to impact and transform major world markets. We found that at Inocucor and are very pleased to join this financing.”

Inocucor’s growth strategy is focused on establishing commercial partnerships that include its intellectual property as a key ingredient for new bio-stimulation and bio-protection products for large-scale production farmers. It also plans to make strategic acquisitions that will speed the commercialization of its proprietary microbial consortia technology and broaden its product pipeline.

Last September, Inocucor cemented its first commercial strategic partnership with Axter Agrosciences Inc., one of Canada’s leading providers of foliar feeding crop solutions, to develop products based on the combined action of Inocucor’s second-generation cell-free growth stimulant and Axter’s biostimulants, CropBooster® and RR SoyBooster®.

In October, Inocucor and McGill University signed a research and licensing agreement to co-produce a new class of sustainable bio-stimulant products for large-scale agriculture that have the potential to increase crop yields by at least 10 to 15 percent.

Inocucor’s first-generation product, Garden Solution®, is currently being sold to organic farmers, traditional farmers and greenhouse growers in the U.S. It has been shown to consistently speed germination and increase crop yields by an average of 10 to 15 percent. Its Aqua Solution® is sold as a water conditioner for ornamental ponds in Canada.

 

About Inocucor Technologies, Inc.

Inocucor Technologies, Inc., based in Montreal, is an ag biotech company that develops sustainable biological products for agriculture targeting the phyto-microbiome—the seeds, plants, root systems and the soil surrounding them. Inocucor’s first-generation product, Garden Solution®, employs live microbes to actively improve the health of the entire phyto-microbiome. Future generations of Inocucor products are powerful cell-free biological solutions for bio-stimulation and bio-protection in mainstream production agriculture. For more information, visit www.inocucor.com.

About Desjardins Innovatech

Desjardins –Innovatech provides capital, business network and expertise to assist companies and cooperatives in their growth, expansion, mergers, acquisitions or IPO.

About Cycle Capital Management

A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle. With assets under management of $230 million, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and northeastern North America. Cycle Capital is composed of experienced investment professionals, strategic advisors, and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Master Group, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec.

 

 

Source: 

Michele Wells

Michele Wells Communications

+1 303-417-0696

[email protected]

Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner of Cycle Capital Management (Cycle Capital) is pleased to announce that Amit Srivastava has joined her team as Senior Partner.

With more than 20 years of experience in venture capital, Amit brings to Cycle Capital team a very rich experience in international business development. Until recently, Amit served as Managing Partner and CEO of Entrepia Ventures. Prior to joining Entrepia in 2001, he worked for seven years at JP Morgan Chase, including four years at JP Morgan Partners (formerly Chase Capital Partners), where his responsibilities included leading venture capital investments in the electronics sector, oversight of private equity investments in India, and serving as the Portfolio Manager of a private equity portfolio of over 700 investments in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, with an aggregate carried value exceeding $10 billion. He led or was a major investment team member in 17 deals where he invested a total of $114.5 million. Before he worked at JP Morgan Chase, he was a Principal for five years at Mercer Management Consulting, where he advised major global IT and communications companies on strategy, business development and operational effectiveness. Earlier in his career, he held marketing and engineering management positions during five years at Texas Instruments.

It is with pride that Cycle Capital welcomes Amit Srivastava among its team members. “To have had the privilege to work with Amit in recent years, I realize very well that he will add great value to Cycle Capital’s portfolios companies who will benefit most certainly from his knowledge of business development in foreign markets”, said Andrée-Lise Méthot. Amit Srivastava holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. 

About Cycle Capital Management

A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.

With assets under management of $230 million, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and northeastern North America. Cycle Capital is composed of experienced investment professionals, strategic advisors, and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Master Group, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec.

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Info :    Andrée-Lise Méthot, 514 865-3620, [email protected]

 

Thank you!

Enerkem voted in the 50 Hottest Companies in Biofuels annual list for a sixth consecutive year

Further to the recent announcements of our entry in the China market to build waste-to-biofuels facilities in partnership with three Chinese companies, Enerkem is proud to be ranked 14^th in Biofuels Digest’s annual list of the 50 Hottest Companies in Biofuels 2014-15.

The 50 Hottest Companies list recognizes innovation and achievement in the biofuels sector. The ranking is based on votes from a panel of international selectors and from subscribers of Biofuels Digest.

From all of us at Enerkem, THANK YOU!

Jinan, October 28, 2014
Participating in Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard’s 2014 Québec-China Mission, Cycle Capital Management (CCM) announced today the signing of an agreement with Qingdao City Construction Investment Group (Chengtou). In collaboration with Cycle Capital Fund III, this Chinese partner will invest in companies in cleantech sector. In counterpart, Cycle Capital will support its Chinese partner in setting up a venture capital fund in Qingdao.

Through its partnership with Qingdao City Construction Investment Group, Cycle Capital has promoted the establishment of a collaborative agreement for two companies of its portfolio, Enerkem and Eocycle in Qingdao.

“Building this type of partnership is one of the key elements to enable North American businesses in clean technology to access Asian markets with a greater probability of success,” said Andrée-Lise Méthot. She further noted that this partnership between Chengtou and Cycle Capital will provide an interesting opportunity for the portfolio companies wishing to expand and invest the Chinese market, she said.

About Cycle Capital Management 

A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle.

With $230 million in assets under management, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and northeastern North America. Cycle Capital’s team is composed of experienced investment professionals, strategic advisors, and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Master Group, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec.

About Qingdao City Construction Investment Group 

Founded in 2008, Qingdao City Construction Investment Group is directly owned by Qingdao municipal government. It is a China’s 3A enterprise, which is the highest level. With total assets of nearly 100 billion yuan, it has 15 core subsidiaries, covering land development, construction of the new Hongdao District, urban and rural development, tourism investment operation, municipal resource development, urban and rural financial services and other areas. Centered on the two major themes of “urban and rural infrastructure construction, and Qingdao’s tourism”, the Group plays a significant role to dedicate to the economic development of Qingdao in financing, control and integration of high-quality resources.

As a land development investment platform designated by the municipal government, Qingdao City Construction Investment Group has been innovative to improve market-oriented modes of operation in order to turn government resources into enterprises assets, enterprises assets into social capital, and social capital into enterprises capital. It has introduced a number of well-known state-owned key enterprises and municipal supporting units to accelerate the integration and development of land resources enhance land value and achieve win-win development.

The Group dedicates to promote the development of Hongdao as an important urban strategic reserve so as to construct a new northern urban district in respect of technology, culture, and ecology, including core area of 28.7 sq kilometers and oasis wetland of 22 sq. kilometers.

 

 

Source: Cycle Capital Management

Information: Guillaume Bérubé 514-282-4719