Gasification company Sierra gets funding

Sierra Energy has raised $33 million in a series A investment round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The Davis, California–based start-up says it will use the money to further its FastOx gasification technology, which uses steam and oxygen at 2,200 °C to convert solid waste into a useful mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide known as synthesis gas. Sierra says the high temperature allows it to take in a wide variety of waste. The company is operating a facility at Fort Hunter Liggett, a US Army garrison in California, that can process 20 metric tons of waste per day.