Virgin Fuels continues to spend Richard Branson's fortune on cleantech companies. Biofuel developer Gevo Inc. is getting Series B funding from Khosla Ventures and Virgin Group Ltd.'s $400 million alternative energy fund established last year. Exact figures were not made public, but Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber characterizes the deal as under $10 million and says the funds are earmarked for technology development.

Branson's cleantech VC arm has also invested roughly $160 million in ethanol maker Cilion Inc., in which Khosla also invests. And Virgin Fuels has formed a joint venture called VBC LLC, or Virgin Bioverda, with Irish firm Bioverda, a division of NTR plc, to invest $336 million in ethanol plants in the Midwest. The collaboration includes Bioverda's investments in Ethanol Grain Processors LLC and Indiana Bio-Energy LLC.

For more on the strategies of VCs who are nurturing alternative energy companies, including Virgin Fuels, please see Tech Confidential's special report on cleantech. —Mary Kathleen Flynn

See July 19 story on TheDeal.com
See April 4 story on TheDeal.com