Irving, Texas-based biodiesel technology and production firm Benefuel Inc. announced it has closed $11 million in the first tranche of its offering of Series C Preferred Stock. A U.S. subsidiary of the Canadian energy firm Suncor Energy was the primary subscriber. The first tranche also included Flint Hills Resources and other existing shareholders. Benefuel says Suncor has agreed to work jointly with the company to commercialize and deploy Benefuel's patented Ensel technology in the U.S. and Canada. Benefuel’s technology is being retrofitted into an idled biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Neb., in a joint venture with Flint Hills Resources named Duonix LLC.

“Suncor joins an already strong team of investors and development partners that includes Flint Hills Resources, the largest operating subsidiary of Koch Industries, and Itochu Corp., one of Japan's largest trading companies,” said Rob Tripp, CEO of Benefuel. “This was the first close of our Series C Preferred Stock offering, and we look forward to bringing in additional investors of this caliber.”

“This has been an exciting couple of months for Benefuel,” Tripp continued. “Last month we announced the beginning of the retrofitting of our Beatrice facility, and now this agreement. Even in this short period of time we have seen growth in biodiesel markets around the world, including most recently in Brazil and Southeast Asia, where the mandated blend ratios for biodiesel have increased significantly. This additional demand means opportunity for us as a low-cost producer, and we look forward to working with our current and future partners to bring the Ensel technology to other parts of the world.”