Biocatalysis

Like Live Fuels, Solix is also working on a bio-crude product produced by algae that could be refined in existing refineries, but its approach is based on a closed-tank bioreactor set-up. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado and founded in April 2006, the firm is backed by Colorado State University’s Engine and Energy Conversion Laboratory. The list of major investors includes I2BF Venture Capital, Bohemian Investments, Southern Ute Alternative Energy LLC, Valero Energy, Infield Capital. The company has said that construction will begin shortly on its first, large-scale bioreactor at the nearby New Belgian Brewery in southwest Colorado, where CO₂ waste produced during the beer-making process will be used to feed the algae. This test facility will cost Solix a cool $5 million in greenbacks. But perhaps it will lead to green crude.

The goal of developing improved enzymes to increase the efficiency of generating sugar feedstocks for green chemical production continues to attract new players. French biotech company Proteus announced a new partnership with Agro Industrie Recherches et Developpements (ARD) to convert non-food agricultural products into higher value compounds. Proteus has a technology platform based on its L-Shuffling methods for creating diversity for laboratory evolution of enzymes. ARD is a research and development center for agro-industry groups in France specializing in non-food applications. This new partnership joins an already crowded field that includes Novozymes, Danisco-Genencor, Shell-Codexis, and BP-Verenium just to name a few.