Enerkem Funding, Investors & Competitors

Enerkem has raised $549M across 5 funding rounds, most recently a $79M undisclosed-stage round in April 2022.

Last Enerkem funding round

$79M

Undisclosed stage · Apr 2022

Cumulative funding Enerkem raised

$549M

across 5 funding rounds

Key investors in Enerkem

  • The Westly Group
  • Cycle Capital
  • Rho Ventures
  • Braemar Energy Ventures
  • Investissement Quebec
  • Fonds de solidarité FTQ
  • Fondaction
  • National Bank of Canada

Enerkem Overview

About Enerkem

Enerkem is a Montreal-headquartered cleantech firm that converts municipal solid waste into methanol, biofuels, and renewable chemicals using proprietary gasification technology. Its first commercial plant in Edmonton, Alberta, processes 100,000 tonnes of waste annually into 38 million liters of methanol. Enerkem operates facilities in Canada and the United States, partnering with municipalities like Edmonton and Ponoka. Founded in 2000, the company employs around 170 people and counts investors such as Waste Management and Investissement Québec among its backers. It focuses on reducing landfill use and displacing fossil fuels in transportation.


Founded

2000

HQ

CanadaMontreal

Status

Privately held

Customer focus

B2B & B2G

Revenue model

Product sales

Enerkem Funding History

Enerkem has raised a total of $549M across 5 funding rounds.

Enerkem's first fundraising round was a $48M undisclosed-stage round in June 2013. The most recent completed round was a $79M undisclosed-stage round in April 2022.

Enerkem funding rounds

Enerkem funding rounds
DateStageInvestorsRaisedDeal Summary
Apr 2022Undisclosed stageRepsol (lead)$79MEnerkem, a Canadian company specializing in waste gasification technology to produce renewable fuels and chemicals from non-recyclable waste, closed a CA$255 million financing round on April 6, 2022. Repsol invested CA$170 million, comprising CA$75 million in equity (equivalent to €54 million) and CA$95 million in convertible debt (€68 million), becoming a strategic shareholder alongside Suncor Energy. Additional investments came from Monarch Alternative Capital, Avenue, and existing shareholders like Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Investissement Québec, Cycle Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Fondaction. J.P. Morgan acted as placement agent. The round aims to drive growth and deployment of Enerkem's technology, with Repsol focusing on projects in Spain and Portugal, including integration into its industrial facilities. This partnership supports Repsol's circular economy and decarbonization goals, leveraging Enerkem's tech recently recognized by the EU Innovation Fund. The Ecoplanta project in Tarragona, Spain—a Repsol €800 million initiative using Enerkem's process—was selected for up to €106 million EU grant among 300+ submissions; it will process 400,000 tons of municipal waste annually into 240,000 tons of renewable methanol and products, targeting 2029 startup. Later developments include Enerkem's financial distress, entering CCAA proceedings where Repsol, Monarch, and Eyre Street proposed acquiring it for $305 million (covering $218 million secured debt and $87 million financing), potentially leading to Repsol majority ownership. Quebec had invested over $84 million publicly, with shares/notes at risk of cancellation.
Apr 2022Undisclosed stageAvenue Capital Group (lead); Monarch Alternative Capital (lead); Repsol (lead)$123M-
Apr 2019Strategic investmentSuncor Energy (lead); Cycle Capital; Fonds de solidarité FTQ; The Westly Group; Sunkem; National Bank of Canada; Rho Ventures; Braemar Energy Ventures; Fondaction; Investissement Quebec$76MEnerkem Inc., a Montreal-based global leader in biofuels production from solid waste using proprietary gasification technology, closed a C$76.3 million equity financing round on April 16, 2019, with participation from existing investors including Braemar Energy Ventures, Cycle Capital, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Quebec, National Bank of Canada, Rho Ventures, The Westly Group, and new investor Suncor Energy Inc. as lead. This round supported Enerkem's growth and deployment of its technology to convert non-recyclable mixed municipal solid waste into cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels and chemicals. In October 2019, Suncor increased its stake with an additional $50 million equity investment, becoming a significant strategic shareholder and providing technical resources for the Enerkem Alberta Biofuels plant in Edmonton, the world's first commercial-scale facility producing cellulosic ethanol from waste. This followed Suncor's initial participation in the April round and strengthened their partnership in advanced biofuels. Enerkem continued advancing projects post-round, including a proposed CAD$875 million biofuel plant in Varennes, Quebec, announced later, involving partners like Shell, Suncor, and Proman, with $60 million invested since August 2019 for development, aiming for 125 million litres of biofuels annually from 200,000 tonnes of waste and creating jobs.
Feb 2018Undisclosed stageCycle Capital; Fonds de solidarité FTQ; Sinobioway Group; Waste Management; The Westly Group; National Bank of Canada; Rho Ventures; BlackRock; Braemar Energy Ventures; Fondaction; Investissement Quebec$222MEnerkem Inc. is a Montreal-based clean technology company specializing in converting non-recyclable municipal solid waste into biofuels like methanol and ethanol, and renewable chemicals, using proprietary thermo-chemical technology. It operates a full-scale commercial facility in Edmonton, Alberta, producing cellulosic ethanol from waste, and an innovation center in Quebec, promoting a circular economy as an alternative to landfilling and incineration. On February 6, 2018, Enerkem closed its largest financing round of C$280 million in new capital, matching the specified investors including new participants BlackRock (likely BlackRock Enhanced) and China's Sinobioway Group, alongside existing investors such as Braemar Energy Ventures, Cycle Capital, Fondaction, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Investissement Québec, National Bank of Canada, Rho Ventures, The Westly Group, and Waste Management. National Bank Financial Inc. and Scotia Capital Inc. acted as financial advisors. The funds aim to accelerate growth, expand project development, and implement new facilities following the launch of its Edmonton bioethanol operation. Enerkem's technology supports modular, prefabricated facilities deployable globally, with milestones including commercial production start in Edmonton and agreements like a $125M deal with Sinobioway. The company has pursued projects in Rotterdam and received grants, emphasizing waste-to-chemistry initiatives and low-carbon fuels.
Jun 2013Undisclosed stageCycle Capital; Waste Management; The Westly Group; Rho Ventures; Braemar Energy Ventures$48MEnerkem is a Canadian cleantech company specializing in converting non-recyclable waste into biofuels and renewable chemicals using proprietary gasification and syngas cleanup technology. In June 2013, the company met with the U.S. Department of Energy to discuss schedule recovery for its ARRA-funded biorefinery project in Pontotoc, MS, originally awarded $50M with a total project cost of $124M, including $74M cost share from Enerkem. The project involved construction phases but faced delays, with budget periods extending into 2015. Earlier financings mentioned include a C$152.6M funding in one instance and a $30.3M round in 2011 with some overlapping investors like The Westly Group. Enerkem's shareholders later included these investors alongside others like BlackRock and Suncor. Around 2013, Enerkem was advancing its Edmonton, Alberta facility, a 100,000 tonnes/year waste gasification plant, with commissioning of front-end systems and key investments like C$37M from investors for the Alberta Biofuels project. The company received awards such as the 2013 Don Klass Award for its CTO and was named in the 2012 Global Cleantech 100. Commercial production milestones were achieved later, with the Edmonton plant launching in 2016 as the world's first full-scale waste-to-biofuels facility producing up to 38 million litres per year.

Who has invested in Enerkem?

16 investors have backed Enerkem across its funding rounds, including The Westly Group, Cycle Capital, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Investissement Quebec and Fonds de solidarité FTQ.

Lead investors include Repsol, Avenue Capital Group, Monarch Alternative Capital and Suncor Energy.


Enerkem Investors

Investors in Enerkem by funding rounds participated
InvestorHQRoundsRoleFirst check
Cycle CapitalCanadaMontreal3ParticipantJun 2013
The Westly GroupUnited StatesSan Francisco, CA3ParticipantJun 2013
Rho VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY3ParticipantJun 2013
Braemar Energy VenturesUnited StatesNew York City, NY3ParticipantJun 2013
RepsolSpainMadrid2LeadApr 2022
Fonds de solidarité FTQCanadaMontreal2ParticipantFeb 2018
Waste ManagementNew ZealandAuckland2ParticipantJun 2013
National Bank of CanadaCanadaCanada2ParticipantFeb 2018
FondactionCanadaMontreal2ParticipantFeb 2018
Investissement QuebecCanadaQuebec City2ParticipantFeb 2018
Suncor EnergyCanadaCalgary1LeadApr 2019
Sinobioway GroupChinaBeijing1ParticipantFeb 2018
Sunkem--1ParticipantApr 2019

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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples

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Enerkem Competitors

Enerkem competitors include listed companies like Borregaard and Tongwei, and private ones like PhaBuilder, Redwood Materials, Gradiant and ADAR Technologies, LLC.

Public and private companies comparable to Enerkem
CompanyHQStatusRevenueEBITDAValuationRevenue Multiple
BorregaardNorwayNorwayPublicly listed$807M$169M$1.6B2.2x
PhaBuilderChinaBeijingPrivate--$287M-
Redwood MaterialsUnited StatesCarson City, NVPrivate$200M-$6B30.0x
GradiantUnited StatesBoston, MAPrivate--$1B-
ADAR Technologies, LLCUnited StatesPhoenix, AZPrivate--$220M-
TongweiChinaChinaPublicly listed$13B$461M$7.4B1.5x

Enerkem Public Comps

Enerkem is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Waste Management, Republic Services, Waste Connections, Veolia, Veralto, First Solar, CF Industries, Qinghai Salt Lake Industry, GFL Environmental and Industries Qatar.

Last FYEV/RevenueEV/EBITDA
RevenueEBITDALast FYLTM2027ELast FYLTM2027E
Waste Management$25B$7.2B4.3x4.1x15.0x13.5x
Republic Services$17B$5.1B4.9x4.8x16.0x14.8x
Waste Connections$9.5B$3B5.1x4.9x16.3x14.8x
Veolia$51B$7.2B1.0x1.0x7.1x6.1x
Veralto$5.5B$1.3B4.4x4.2x18.2x16.7x
First Solar$5.2B$2.1B3.8x4.0x9.7x7.7x
CF Industries$7.1B$3.2B3.5x3.1x7.7x6.8x
Qinghai Salt Lake Industry$2.3B$1.2B6.9x4.5x13.3x7.3x

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Common questions about Enerkem

When was Enerkem founded?Enerkem was founded in 2000.
Where is Enerkem headquartered?Enerkem is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
Is Enerkem publicly listed?No, Enerkem is a private, VC-backed company.
How much funding has Enerkem raised?Enerkem has raised $549M across 5 funding rounds.
What was Enerkem's last funding round?Enerkem's last funding round was a $79M undisclosed-stage round in April 2022, led by Repsol.
Who are Enerkem's investors?Enerkem's investors include Cycle Capital, The Westly Group, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Repsol, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Waste Management, National Bank of Canada, Fondaction, Investissement Quebec and 6 others.
Which companies are comparable to Enerkem?Companies comparable to Enerkem include Borregaard, PhaBuilder, Redwood Materials, Gradiant, ADAR Technologies, LLC and Tongwei.

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