World Energy invests in Valent to advance renewable diesel, SAF technologies

Valent Low-Carbon Technologies has secured an investment from World Energy LLC. The funding, according to Valent, supports upcoming deployments of novel, commercial-scale renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production technologies.

Valent says it has made advances since 2019 with new technology integration opportunities across World Energy’s sites. World Energy operates biodiesel plants in Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Canada, in addition to its renewable diesel facility in California and distribution hubs throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The World Energy investment will aid Valent’s ability to deploy a number of emerging fuel technologies to help decarbonize aviation, marine and over-the-road applications. “Having World Energy as a shareholder and advisor accelerates our ability to deploy our technology solutions in relevant field environments,” said Tim Haig, CEO of Valent and co-founder of Biox Corp., a biodiesel production company that World Energy acquired in 2018. “We both see the opportunity for market-ready low carbon-intensity renewable fuels that require no special blending or new infrastructure.” Gene Gebolys, CEO of World Energy, said, “Driving the frontier of sustainable transport is a team game requiring close collaborations across businesses. We have long supported the excellent, early-stage technology development work the Valent team is doing. We are thrilled to be teaming up even more closely with them now as the urgency to find better solutions increases every day.” As part of the transaction, several Valent shareholders—namely Hartley Richardson, CEO of James Richardson & Sons and John Risley’s CFFI Ventures—increased their investments in Valent. Valent says it is also welcoming John Love, a prominent Canadian investor and entrepreneur, as a new shareholder. Valent’s total funding now is more than $150 million.