By Steve Hentges, special to The Digest In a recent column, GFBiochemicals Chief Commercial Officer Marcel van Berkel wrote about the potential of levulinic acid as a biobased platform chemical. As an example, he mentioned that health concerns have been raised about bisphenol A (BPA, a widely used synthetic chemical) and that diphenolic acid (DPA, derived […]
By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest What does a relationship book from the 1990’s have to do with successfully scaling up biotechnology? More than you would expect. In this case, we are substituting engineers and business developers, then focusing on the differences in how they view biotechnology commercialization and the […]
By James L. Stewart, special to The Digest At this month’s COP21 Conference in Paris, California’s two most recent Governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown, heralded the legislative and regulatory initiatives of the past decade that have placed California in the forefront of environmental and climate change policy. These programs most certainly provided inspiration for […]
By Sam Nejame, Special to the Digest Early last month I travelled to San Francisco for a conference. Over the weekend I and some old college friends cycled through Marin. In rain and fog we spun up long steady climbs then bombed hairy twisting descents through the famed redwoods. When my borrowed bicycle needed a […]
Novozymes’ Sebastian Søderberg on how the growing consumer trend to choose ‘green’ products can help the cellulosic ethanol industry take off. Why would people be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly product? I believe consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the damage their consumption can cause to the planet. With this […]
By Brent Erickson, Executive Vice-President, BIO After a painful and damaging two-year delay, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week published Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) for 2014, 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately, the agency finalized a rule riddled with contradictions and confusing logic. EPA asserts that Congress gave it the authority to slow down the RFS […]
By Mark Warner, PE, Founder, Warner Advisors LLC, Special to The Digest Two questions have dominated the responses received after my Lessons Learned series on commercializing industrial biotechnology (here) and the deep-dive into the industrial biotechnology commercialization process (here), the questions are what makes scale-up of industrial biotechnology so difficult and of course how can risk […]
By Vonnie Estes, Special to The Digest Around the world, manufacturers make everyday products, from food to containers to fabrics, using processes and ingredients developed decades to centuries ago. These manufacturing systems have enabled impressive economic growth and raised the global standard of living. But as the land, water, and fossil fuel resources those systems […]
By Marcel van Berkel, Chief Commercial Officer, GFBiochemicals, special to The Digest There is a clear and growing need for new chemical building blocks. As the world readies for COP 21 in Paris, this is more evident than ever before. Civil society, policymakers and industry are all demanding new solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. […]
By Matt Carr, Executive Director, Algae Biomass Organization, special to The Digest The 2015 conference season is coming to a close and a common theme seems to be that the state of the bioeconomy is one of transition. Speaking for the hundreds of innovating companies in the algae industry: We wouldn’t have it any other […]
