Amyris aims at becoming a great player in the bioeconomy. Together with Firmenich and Total

Bill and Melinda Gates: their Foundation supported the start-up of Amyris in 2005
Bill and Melinda Gates: their Foundation supported the start-up of Amyris in 2005

The US biotech company Amyris aims at becoming a great player in the world bioeconomy. Founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay Area by a group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, Amyris – as anticipated during its prior quarter results call – has begun the production of its first fragrance oil at a specialty contract manufacturing facility. In 2014, building on the successful results of its initial fragrance oil production and based on feedback from its partner, Amyris plans to also produce this fragrance oil at its own Brotas production facility. The Brotas biorefinery currently produces Biofene, Amyris’s brand of farnesene, a renewable hydrocarbon used for a range of applications. Following planned improvements to the Brotas plant in early 2014, Amyris expects to be able to produce both Biofene and a range of other fermentation products, including its fragrance oils, at the plant.

This announcement follows the one of last December, when Amyris announced together with the French oil giant Total the formation of Total Amyris Biosolutions, a 50-50 joint venture that will produce market renewable diesel and jet fuel.

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VTT’s new report: Biorefinery business is the key for the sustainable economic growth of South Australia

South Australian Forest
South Australian Forest

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the biggest multitechnological applied research organisation in Northern Europe, at the request of the South Australian State Government, studied the condition of the forest sector industries in the Green Triangle region and examined the added value that may be achievable through high technology production.

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M&G Chemicals will construct a second-generation biorefinery in China

The M&G Biorefinery in Crescentino, Italy
The M&G Biorefinery in Crescentino, Italy

M&G Chemicals, among the three largest producers of PET resin for packaging applications in the world, announced last Monday its decision to construct a second-generation biorefinery in the region of Fuyang, Anhui Province of China, for the conversion of one million metric tons of biomass into bio-ethanol and bio-glycols.

The project is expected to be realized through a joint-venture with Chinese company Guozhen which will make available one million metric tons of straw biomass and use the lignin resulting as a by-product from the bio-refinery to feed a 45 MW cogeneration plant which will be constructed at the same time as the bio-refinery in the same site. M&G Chemicals will be majority partner of the biorefinery and minority partner of the power plant.

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Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary: $181 million to Develop Advanced Biofuels

Tom Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary
Tom Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of 181 million US dollars to develop commercial-scale biorefineries or retrofit existing facilities with appropriate technology to develop advanced biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) remains focused on carrying out its mission, despite a time of significant budget uncertainty. Vilsack’s announcement is one part of the Department’s efforts to strengthen the rural economy.

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UCLA engineers develop new metabolic pathway to more efficiently convert sugars into biofuels

University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA chemical engineering researchers have created a new synthetic metabolic pathway for breaking down glucose that could lead to a 50 percent increase in the production of biofuels.

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Today starts the European biotech week: the bioeconomy is protagonist in Brussels, Turin and Naples

Turin (Italy), panorama
Turin (Italy), panorama

Today starts the European biotech week, seven days entirely dedicated to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA.

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Praj launches in India a new concept of biorefinery for 2G bioethanol and biochemicals

PRAJ-Matrix - The Innovation Center (a division of Praj Industries), was inaugurated on April 21, 2008
PRAJ-Matrix – The Innovation Center (a division of Praj Industries)

Praj Industries – the Indian global process solutions company for bioethanol, alcohol and brewery, water and wastewater – has emerged as the first Company in South Asia to set up an integrated 2nd Generation (2G) Cellulosic ethanol plant. Praj’s Executive Chairman, Pramod Chaudhari, did the groundbreaking at Shirala in Sangli District in Maharashtra (India) along with Chairman of Viraj Alcohols & Allied Industries Limited (VAAIL), Mansinghrao Naik.

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The UK’s largest biorefinery is officially opened in Hull

Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull (England)
Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull (England)

The £350 million Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull (England) was officially opened this week by Vince Cable, Member of Parliament, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. The new plant is the UK’s biggest bioethanol producer and largest single-source supplier of animal feed providing valuable commodities that the UK would usually import.

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Bye Bye Europe. British Petroleum Invests in Advanced Biofuels in America

BP's Refinery
BP’s Refinery

Oil major BP is directing investment in advanced biofuels to the United States and South America due to uncertainty about the European Union’s future regulatory environment.

“At the moment we are not contemplating investing in second-generation cellulosic (ethanol) in Europe simply for the reason that there is not enough certainty on what the market conditions will be like,” Phil New, head of BP Biofuels, said in an interview with Reuters UK.

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Novamont has unveiled the first product made from 4th generation Mater-Bi®

Novamont's Headquarter in Novara (Italy)
Novamont’s Headquarter in Novara (Italy)

Novamont, the Italian leading company in the development and production of materials and biochemicals, with a turnover of 135 million euros in 2012, has unveiled the first product made from 4th generation Mater-Bi®, the family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics designed to go beyond the product itself and become an opportunity to develop circular bioeconomies. It also aims to stimulate reindustrialisation through the development of integrated Biorefineries. It’s what was announced by the company in a statement.

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