BASF, Others Invest In SDCmaterials

SDCmaterials, a Tempe, Ariz.-based producer of catalysts and ceramic additives, has raised $14 million in venture capital funding, including another investment by BASF Venture Capital. Founded in 2004, SDC runs a plant in Tempe in which it makes catalysts for hydrogenation, automotive emissions reduction, and isomerization and reforming in refineries. The company says its catalysts consume less precious metal than other catalysts on the market. BASF, itself one of the world's largest catalyst makers, first invested in SDC in 2006. SDC recently opened a plant at BASF's Schwarzheide, Germany, facility.