“Transformative Technologies 2011” kicks off with 1st-round voting. Who’s the Best? This week: Goliath vs Goliath, David vs Goliath, “8 vs 9” contests to watch, plus a SynthBio blow-out with Sapphire Energy, Mendel, Synthetic Genomics and Ceres in the mix. In Florida, Amyris, Gevo, Solazyme and Coskata landed the top four seeds in the 2011 […]
Here are the Complete match-ups in the 2011 Transformative Technologies Tournament. Links take you to a summary of the match-up, including company profiles. East Regional #1 Coskata vs #16 Range Fuels #2 KiOR vs #15 Butamax #3 Mascoma vs #14 PetroAlgae #4 Qteros vs #13 Inbicon #5 Algenol vs #12 Monsanto #6 Dupont vs #11 […]
In Washington, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA and DOE have awarded 10 grants totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy crops. The USDA and DOE projects are designed to improve special crops to be grown for biofuels-including selected trees and grasses-by increasing […]
In Washington, US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and US Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel provided a rousing opening to the DOE’s annual BIOMASS congress in Washington. Opening the conference, DOE Biomass Program Manager Paul Bryan noted that “Two years ago, we could have been called the […]
In Washington, on a cloture vote in the Senate to proceed to an amendment that would end the current ethanol tax incentive immediately, Senator Coburn’s amendment lost 40-59, falling 20 votes short of the sixty votes needed to obtain cloture. Why did the industry oppose the Coburn amendment? Critics of biofuels have described its leaders as “living off […]
In Texas, KiOR said that it now expects to raise $190-$241 million in its IPO. The company indicated in an amplified registration statement with the SEC that it expects to sell up to 11.5 million shares (including over-allotments, if sold) between $19 and $21 per share. The IPO originally aimed to raise $100 million, but […]
What makes a top strategic investor? Who are the players at the top of their investment game in biofuels now? The criteria First of all, by definition, strategic investors are generally non-financial corporate entities for whom the investment represents a strategic initiative. Second, the deals and companies must be visible and credible. Third, investors must […]
Today, subscribers can begin to cast their ballots for the 30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals and Biomaterials, for 2011-12. For a free Digest subscription, visit here. Balloting will be open to the registered subscribers of the Biofuels Digest, Biofuels Digest Asia, and Renewable Chemicals Digest e-newsletters, through July 20, 2011 at 5pm EDT. 33 […]
BioAmber Inc., a developer of bio-based succinic acid, has raised $45 million dollars in a Series B financing that will accelerate the commercialization of succinic acid and modified PBS (polybutylene succinate, a renewable, biodegradable polymer). The round was led by NAXOS Capital Partners and included Mitsui & Co, Sofinnova Partners, and the Cliffton Group. Proceeds […]
In California, Amyris announced the completion of the first industrial-scale production facility, in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil at a facility owned by Biomin do Brasil Nutriҫão Animal Ltda., a company focusing on animal nutrition. The production facility is located expects to begin Biofene production in May. Amyris feeds sugar cane syrup into three dedicated 200,000 […]
