Biocatalysis

Verenium, the enzyme developer that was created when Diversa merged with cellulosic ethanol developer Celunol, has now sold its cellulosic business to BP for $98.3 million. Included in the transaction are the facilities in Jennings, LA and San Diego, CA.

Verenium will retain its specialty enzyme business, including its enzymes for facilitating biofuels production.

As a result of this deal, Verenium is returning to its original focus on biocatalysis and the development of improved enzymes for industrial applications. Read the press release here.

With all the talk about corn and crop lands being diverted away from food production and toward the production of biofuels, everyone has been expecting shortages of food and higher food prices. With this as background, I was surprised to read this morning that the EPA is now predicting a period of food abundance due to the rapid pace of innovation in productivity. Crop yields have risen dramatically along with biofuel yields from corn and soybean, and newer technologies are being developed that will replace corn with cellulose or switchgrass, or even algae.

The result is a predicted food glut, with more food available in the future than there will be a market for. Get the full story here.

A great article by Jim Lane on what he calls the “infinite loop” of renewable fuels financing. Shari Lewis could not have described the situation any better.

The winners of the 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry awards include Merck and Codexis for their collaborative work on a new enzyme-based process for manufacturing Januvia and LS9, Inc for its work toward developing a petroleum-like biofuel. The full list of recipients is here.

I am not talking about the color of the playing surface.

This year Team USA and 8 other teams are wearing jerseys made entirely from recycled plastic bottles. And get this: they are also higher-tech, being 15% lighter-weight and providing better breathability due to thousands of tiny, laser-bored holes in the sides. Nike has provided these remarkable uniforms (free plug for Nike).

Very cool. (Go Team USA!)

For another take on the impact of Craig Venter’s accomplishment in creating a designed organism

With so much press (and hype) surrounding the biofuels industry, and so many new developments, understanding what is hot and what is not can be challenging. Ecofriend has tried to cut through the fog, listing their picks as the 10 Most Transformative Technologies of 2010. Follow the link for details. I’ll comment on some of these in upcoming posts.

I will make one observation now: Craig Venter’s creation of the first synthetic cell is not on the list–a gross oversight in my humble opinion.

Craig Venter, together with scientist from his company Synthetic Genomics, recently announced a scientific breakthrough: creation of the first synthetic cell. Here is the brief summary of what was accomplished: a cell had its DNA removed and replaced by DNA designed on a computer and synthesized in the lab, and the cell with the lab-synthesized DNA was able to reproduce. Voila–a new life form was made according to the designed DNA. The future implication are that soon Venter and Co. will be able to design and create a “super bug” ideally designed to churn out larger quantities of fuel compounds that was heretofore possible, and do so from precursors as inexpensive and readily available a carbon dioxide. I cannot predict the timeline, but Venter’s work is the first step in what will likely be a series of scientific accomplishments culminating in a wide range of highly efficient bioprocesses.

Converting a greenhouse gas to fuel looks great on paper and sounds even better. Cost and those pesky technical details get in the way, of course, but progress is accelerating. For an update on that progress, check out this article by Jim Lane and Biofuels Digest.

Novozymes, the largest and IMHO best enzyme maker on the planet, has just introduced another innovation. It is called GH-61, which tells you nothing about what it really is. Novozymes calls it an “enzyme booster” that turbocharges the enzymatic degradation of cellulose. Imagine: an additive that boosts the performance of Novozyme’s already high-performing cellulases. Accelerating the conversion of waste cellulosic raw materials–things like corn cobs, straw, corn stalks, sugar cane bagasse (the stalks left over after the sugar has been crushed out), and the like– into sugars that can be fermented to produce biofuels is step forward on the path toward more plentiful and less expensive biofuels.

Commercialization has just been initiated, and sales are only beginning. But CEO Steen Riisgard says: “We are a real company, and when we say we are ready, we mean we are ready.”

I believe him.