by Brent Erickson, Executive VP, BIO As any number of economic analysts have noted, continued policy uncertainty is holding businesses back from the hiring and investment needed to get the economy moving again. The advanced biofuel industry has been trying to deploy pioneering technology in the midst of the recent economic downturn. Additional uncertainty over […]
Voting in the third round (Sweet 16) of the Transformative Technologies 2011 tournament begins Monday, August 29 and will close on Friday, September 2 at 5pm ET. Here are the match-ups, with links to previews of the contests and data on each company’s technologies and progress towards commercialization. Solazyme vs OriginOil Gevo vs Terrabon Joule […]
Sweet Sixteen (round three) voting finished on Friday in the Transformative Technologies 2011 tournament. Four favorites advanced, yet four fell, including a #1 regional seed, (Amyris) and two regional #2 seeds (Virent and Codexis). East Regional #3 seed Mascoma also fell, toppled by Joule Unlimited in a close match. What went right and wrong? 1. […]
As the final hour nears for Transformative Technologies third-round voting, Cobalt Technologies and Joule Unlimited have been surging in last-minute voting. Cobalt is making a bid for a come-from-behind upset over the renowned technologies of Solazyme, and Joule is surging in an attempt to pull away from Mascoma in a battle for East Coast synthetic […]
Three companies, operating in Outback Australia, personify promise and hardiness in the microalgae corner of industrial biotech The birth, life and death of a global micro-algae industry has been written so many times that it must seem to many readers like a microscopic version of Buddhist reincarnation, the lifecycle of the phoenix, or out-takes from […]
In Washington, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced up to $12 million to fund three small-scale projects in Illinois, Wisconsin, and North Carolina that aim to commercialize novel conversion technologies to accelerate the development of advanced, drop-in biofuels and other valuable bio-based chemicals. The projects, funded through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable […]
In third day voting in round three of Transformative Technologies 2011, Novozymes shot ahead of #1 seed Amyris 51-49. threatening to topple the company that secured the top ranking in last year’s 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy. Meanwhile, tournament Cinderella OriginOil saw its lead over Codexis narrowed to 55-45, but with two days voting remaining, […]
Alternative fuels have work to do, say retail marketing experts, to win customer acceptance, but the work can be done. Here are 14 points to consider. In Australia, Nic Moulis, CEO of the Australian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, and Charles Wright, GM of Neumann Petroleum, encouraged the biofuels industry on the promise of alternative […]
In first day voting in round three of Transformative Technologies 2011, tournament Cinderella OriginOil saw its lead over Codexis narrowed to 57-43, but still looked poised to continue a remarkable run in the tournament of technologies. Among other second day movements, Mascoma recovered from a deficit to take a small 52-48 lead over Joule Unlimited, […]
In first day voting in round three of Transformative Technologies 2011, tournament Cinderella OriginOil continued its remarkable run, opening up a 59-41 lead over Codexis. The 11th seeded company blew past Genencor and Sapphire Energy to date in the tough Western Regional, and may well be en route to a date with destiny in the […]
