US micronised rubber producer Lehigh Technologies Inc. is raising US$11 million in venture capital, to invest the capital in a global expansion. Lehigh, which converts discarded car tyres and other post-industrial rubber into micronised rubber powder, has raised about US$7 million of the planned raise.
Lehigh is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures, NGP Energy Technology Partners and Leaf Clean Energy Co. Lehigh is working to solve the problem of end-of-life tyres and other post-industrial rubber by turning them into a material that can be recycled into high-performance tyres, asphalt sealants, plastics and paints.
The company transforms scrap rubber material into a powder-like substance called micronised rubber powder through a high-efficiency milling process. It is said to be about 30% less expensive than synthetic and natural rubber.