The 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy
2010-2011
Selectors Data Book
Including company profiles, industry data and recommendations
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Copyright © 2010 by James M. Lane All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Convention. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
An Ascension Book Published by Ascension Publishing, Inc. 801 Brickell Avenue, Suite 900 Miami, FL 33131 First edition: November 2010
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Lane, James M.
50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy Selectors Data Book Guidebook for voters in Biofuels Digest’s annual company ranking.
50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy 2010-11 Data Book/James M. Lane.—Ist ed. p. cm. 1. United States—Civilization—1970- 2. United States—Politics and government—2010-2020 I. Title
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The 2010-11 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome Letter Instructions for Selectors
45
The Hottest Fuels, Feedstocks and Processing Technologies The 2008-09 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy The 2009-10 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy The Transformative Technology 30 for 2010
68
910 14 46
The Top 100 People in Bioenergy for 2010 The Advanced Biofuels Tracking Database: Current Projects Company Profiles
2009-10 Top 50 companies (in order of rank) Other Companies (in alphabetical order) Some 2010-11 eligible companies not profiled
70 224 373
Biofuels Digest Recommendations
Hot 50 Recommendations and Hotter than Hell lists
377
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WELCOME!
Dear Selector, First of all, thank you for being a selector for this year’s 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy. In this effort, you are joining more than 200 scientists, industry leaders, and journalists in a dozen countries, plus the readers of Biofuels Digest.
Holding this 374-page behemoth, you may be wondering what you got yourself into! The information contained in this volume is not required reading. Rather, these company profiles, recommendations, and other materials, are here to assist you. You can use them, or not, as you see fit.
The companies themselves supplied a lot of the material in this book — I made an effort to edit out the “promotional material” and strike anything outrageous. If I missed something you think looks goofy, just skip by it. Data is
Hottest does not mean “best”, “biggest” or “most significant” – it means, in your judgment, the companies that best combine the qualities of visibility and credibility, and have the most reasonable potential to reach oil parity pricing and scale.
I hope you find the process enjoyable and educational throughout this month as you deliberate, and this Data Book will be of value to you throughout the year ahead.
With regards,
Jim Lane Editor & Publisher Biofuels Digest
November 2010
Key Biscayne, FL
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INSTRUX
1. With this PDF, you will have received a Hot 50 ballot in .doc format. 2. Please return your ballot by email to [email protected], no later than 5pm EST, November 30, 2010.
3. You do not have to choose a complete Hot 50 – just as many as you wish. 4. You may select from any companies actively formed and in the bioenergy sector as of November 1, 2010 – whether or not that company appears somewhere in this selector book or not.
5. Please make your selections in rank order – the Hotest Company at #1, and thence down to #50 or wherever you decide to stop. Your #1 choice will receive 50 points, #2 will receive 49...and so on until 1 point is given to your #50 choice.
7. You are allowed to vote for your own company, if you work for one that is eligible — or for a company you have evaluated, consulted for, or invested in.
8. Please do not reveal your choices until the Hot 50 is officially announced on December 7, 2010 at 9am EST. I will provide you a copy of the Hot 50 list on December 6, 2010 2009 — but that information is under struct embargo and not for release until 9am EST on December 7th.
9. Please note that if a company is missing from the selector book, that simply means that their staff did not submit a profile in time.
Thank you for your participation!
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HOT FUELS, FEEDSTOCKS AND TECHNOLOGIES
The following data is from an October 2010 Biofuels Digest reader survey.
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THE 2009-10 50 HOTTEST COMPANIES IN BIOENERGY
1. Solazyme 2. POET
26. Genencor 27. Shell
3. Amyris Biotechnologies 4. BP Biofuels 5. Sapphire Energy 6. Coskata
28. Ceres 29. ExxonMobil 30. Cobalt Technologies
7. DuPont Danisco 8. LS9 9. Verenium
31. Aurora Algae 32. Joule Biotechnologies 33. Syngenta
- 10. Mascoma
- 34. KL Energy
35. Codexis
- 11. Novozymes
- 36. IneosBio
12. UOP Honeywell 13. Gevo
37. Renewable Energy Group 38. Rentech
14. Range Fuels 15. Abengoa Bioenergy 16. PetroAlgae
39. Praj Industries 40. Neste Oil
17. Synthetic Genomics 18. Petrobras 19. Bluefire Renewables 20. ZeaChem
41. LanzaTech 42. OriginOil 43. Choren 44. Solix 45. Chemrec 46. Dynamotive 47. Terrabon 48. Fulcrum Bioenergy 49. SG Biofuels 50. Inbicon
21. Virent Energy Systems 22. Qteros 23. Iogen 24. Algenol 25. Enerkem
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THE 2008-09 50 HOTTEST COMPANIES IN BIOENERGY
- 1. Coskata
- 26. Raven Biofuels
27. Gevo 28. St.1 Biofuels Oy 29. Primafuel
2. Sapphire Energy 3. Virent Energy Systems 4. POET 5. Range Fuels 6. Solazyme
30. Taurus Energy
7. Amyris Biotechnologies 8. Mascoma
31. Ceres 32. Syngenta
9. DuPont Danisco 10. UOP
33. Aurora Biofuels 34. Bionavitas 35. Algenol
- 11. ZeaChem
- 36. Verenium
37. Simply Green 38. Carbon Green 39. SEKAB
12. Aquaflow Bionomic 13. Bluefire Ethanol 14. Novozymes
- 15. Qteros
- 40. Osage Bioenergy
16. Petrobras 17. Cobalt Biofuels 18. Iogen 19. Synthetic Genomics 20. Abengoa Energy
41. Dynamotive 42. Sustainable Power 43. ETH Bioenergia 44. Choren 45. OriginOil
21. KL Energy 22. Ineos 23. GreenFuel 24. Vital Renewable Energy 25. LS9
46. Propel Fuels 47. GEM Biofuels 48. Lake Erie Biofuels 49. Cavitation Technologies 50. Lotus/Jaguar – Omnivore
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THE 2010 TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY 30
Algenol ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms )
Amyris Biotechnologies ( Microbial fuels ) BioEnergy International ( Renewable chemicals )
Butamax ( Biobutanol technologies ) Ceres ( Advanced feedstock technologie s) ClearFuels-Rentech ( Fischer-Tropsch technologies )
Cobalt Technologies ( Biobutanol technologies )
Coskata ( Cellulosic ethanol )
DuPont – BioArchitecture Lab ( Seaweed – Macroalgae technologie s) Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol ( Cellulosic ethanol ) Energy Allied International, The Seawater Foundation and Global Seawater ( Salt-tolerant
feedstocks )
Ford Motor Company – Bobcat project ( Engine technologies )
Genencor ( Enzyme technologies and platforms ) Gevo ( Biobutanol technologies )
Green Biologics ( Biobutanol technologies ) Joule Unlimited ( Microbial fuels ) KL Energy ( Cellulosic ethanol )
LS9 ( Microbial fuels ) Mascoma ( Cellulosic ethanol/Consolidated Bioprocessing )
Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Boeing, Etihad Airways and UOP
Honeywell ( Salt-tolerant feedstocks )
Mitchell Technology (Catalyzed ionoic impact)
Novozymes ( Enzyme technologies and platforms ) OriginOil ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms ) PetroAlgae ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms ) POET ( Cellulosic ethanol ) Qteros ( Cellulosic ethanol/Consolidated Bioprocessing )
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Sapphire Energy ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms )
SBI Bioenergy ( Biodiesel systems ) SES – Seaweed Energy Solutions ( Seaweed – Macroalgae technologies )
Solazyme ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms ) Verenium ( Cellulosic ethanol )
Overall, the 30 selected organizations represented 14 of the 18 total categories in the poll. Among categories that did not produce a winner, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s butanol-based project led in the Electrofuels category, Iowa State led in the Pyrolysis category, the Solana/British Airways project led in the waste-to-energy category, and UOP led in the Chemical reforming and hydroprocessing category.
Close competition between numerous competing technologies within a category in many cases prevented outstanding companies from reaching the Top 30 – notably, fierce competition in the waste-to-energy, pyrolysis and enzyme technology categories. Support for organizations developing microalgae-based technologies was particularly strong with 17.83 percent of readers selecting the category as a whole.
One technology, the FORD Bobcat project which developed an ethanol-injection technology capable of increasing fuel economy through use of ethanol (compared to a drop of up to 25 percent, using ethanol in standard engines), was discontinued by its developers.
Overall, six of the recipients represented consortia or joint ventures. 21 of the 30 organizations recognized in the Transformative Technologies poll also were recognized in the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” for 2009-10.
The leading categories, as recognized by the readers, were:
MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms – 17.83% Waste to energy and symbiotic systems – 9.46% Seaweed – Macroalgae technologies – 8.63%
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Biodiesel systems – 8.59% Cellulosic ethanol – 7.83% Biobutanol technologies – 6.47% Microbial fuels – 5.64% Renewable chemicals – 4.81% Enzyme technologies and platforms – 4.09% Cellulosic ethanol/Consolidated Bioprocessing – 3.67% Pyrolysis – 3.60% Advanced feedstock technologies - 3.48% Salt-tolerant feedstocks – 3.41% Small scale systems and microfuelers – 3.03% Engine technologies - 2.99% Chemical re-forming and hydroprocessing technologies – 2.20% Electrofuels – 2.16% Fischer-Tropsch technologies – 2.12%
Organizations that missed out on the top 30, but ranked in the overall Top 50
(Please follow the link below for more data on each organization’s technologies)
Algaeventure Systems ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms ) Aurora Biofuels ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria, lemna, and plankton platforms )
Bluefire Ethanol ( Cellulosic ethanol )
British Airways/Solana ( Waste to energy and symbiotic systems ) Codexis ( Enzyme technologies and platforms ) eMicrofueler ( Small scale systems and microfuelers ) Enerkem ( Waste to energy and symbiotic systems ) Iogen ( Cellulosic ethanol )
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( Electrofuels ) Louisiana Tech enzyme project ( Enzyme technologies and platforms ) Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( Electrofuels – biodiesel and butanol projects ) Mcgyan process ( Biodiesel systems )
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National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts ( MicroAlgae, cyanobacteria,
lemna, and plankton platforms ) SynGest ( Renewable chemicals ) Synthetic Genomics ( Advanced feedstock technologies )
University of Cincinnati ( Microbial fuels )
UOP ( Chemical re-forming and hydroprocessing technologies ) Virent Energy Systems ( Chemical re-forming and hydroprocessing technologies ) W2Energy (Waste to energy and symbiotic systems) ZeaChem (Cellulosic ethanol)
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THE TOP 100 PEOPLE IN BIOENERGY
as voted by the readers and editors of Biofuels DIgest
1. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture
2. Jeff Broin, CEO, POET 3. Bob Dinneen, President, Renewable Fuels Association 4. Miguel Soldateli Rossetto, CEO, Petrobras Biocombustiviles 5. Jonathan Wolfson, CEO, Solazyme / Harrison Dillon, PhD, CTO 6. Steven Chu, US Secretary of Energy 7. Marcos Lutz, CEO, Cosan 8. Alan Shaw, PhD, CEO, Codexis 9. Marcos Jank, President, UNICA 10. Vincent Chornet, CEO, Enerkem / Esteban Chornet, CTO 11. Steen Riisgaard, CEO / Steen Skjold-Jørgensen, VP for R&D Biofuels, Novozymes 12. Philip New, CEO, BP Biofuels / Sue Ellerbusch, President, BP Biofuels America 13. Brent Erickson, VP Industrial Biotechnology, BIO 14. Jason Pyle, CEO, Sapphire Energy, Cynthia (C.J.) Warner, President 15. Mike McAdams, President, Advanced Biofuels Association 16. Vinod Khosla, Managing Partner, Khosla Ventures 17. Jay Keasling, PhD, Professor, UC Berkeley 18. Patricia Woertz, CEO, Archer Daniels Midland 19. John Melo, CEO, Amyris / CTO Neil Renninger 20. Paul Woods, CEO, Algenol Biofuels 21. Pat Gruber, PhD, CEO, Gevo / Jack Huttner, EVP Corporate Development and Public Affairs 22. Bruce Dale, PhD, Michigan State University 23. Jim Sayre, Senior MD, Cargill Ventures / Ian Purtle, Director of Sustainable Energy 24. Rich LaDuca, Genencor / Bjarne Adamsen, Danisco 25. Joe Skurla, CEO, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol 26. Rob Vierhout, Secretary General, EBIO 27. Valerie Reed, DOE Biomass Program / Paul Bryan 28. Lee Edwards, CEO, Virent / Randy Cortright, PhD, CTO, Virent Energy Systems
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29. Bill Sims, CEO, Joule Unlimited 30. Collin Peterson, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, Earl Pomeroy, US House of Representatives 31. Mary Rosenthal, Exec Director, Algal Biomass Organization 32. Bill Haywood, CEO, LS9 33. Chuck Grassley, John Thune, Jeff Bingaman, Tim Johnson, US Senators 34. Lisa Jackson, US EPA Administrator 35. Ray Mabus, US Secretary of the Navy 36. Barry Cohen, Executive Director, National Algae Association 37. Chris Somerville, PhD, Professor, UC Berkeley Director, EBI 38. Jennifer Holmgren, CEO, Lanzatech / Sean Simpson CTO, founder 39. Joe Jobe, CEO, National Biodiesel Board 40. Rich Altman, Exec Director, CAAFI 41. Wesley Clark, Co-chairman, Growth Energy / Tom Buis, CEO 42. Jim Stewart, Chairman, Bioenergy Producers Association 43. Hugh Grant, CEO, Monsanto 44. Lee Lynd, PhD, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth College 45. Alwin Kopse, Exec. Director, Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels 46. Dan Adler, California Clean Energy Fund 47. Arnold Klann, CEO, Bluefire Ethanol 48. Nancy Young, VP, Environmental Affairs, Air Transport Association / John Heimlich Chief Economist 49. Riggs Eckelberry, CEO, OriginOil / Brian Goodall, PhD, CTO 50. Jose Olivares, PhD, Director, National Alliance For Advanced Biofuels and BioProducts 51. Craig Venter, PhD, CEO, Synthetic Genomics / Emil Jacobs, VP R&D, ExxonMobil 52. Jim Dumesic, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53. Jim Matheson, General Partner, Flagship Ventures / David Berry, PhD, Partner 54. Richard Hamilton, CEO, Ceres 55. John Doerr, Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins 56. Steve Burrill, Managing Partner, Burrill & Co / John Hamer, PhD, Managzing Director / Roger Wyse, Managing Director / Greg Young, Managing Director 57. Bill Roe, CEO, Coskata / Wes Bolsen, CMO Coskata
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58. Doug Cameron, CEO, Alberti Advisors 59. Tom Foust, PhD, NREL; Director, National Advanced Biofuels Consortium 60. Al Darzins, PhD, NREL / Philip Pienkos, PhD 61. Robert Brown, PhD, Professor, Iowa State University 62. Kristina Burow, Partner, ARCH Venture Partners / Bob Nelsen 63. Ganesh Kishore, PhD, CEO, Malaysian Life Sciences Fund 64. Stephen Mayfield, PhD, Professor, UCSD 65. John McCarthy, CEO, Qteros / Kevin Gray, CTO 66. Javier Salgado, CEO, Abengoa Bioenergy 67. Fred Cannon, PhD, CEO, KiOR 68. Bill Glover, MD, Environmental Strategy Boeing 69. Tom Baruch, CEO, CMEA 70. Heather Brodie, CEO, Biofuels Association of Australia 71. David Aldous, CEO, Range Fuels 72. Jim Imbler, CEO, ZeaChem 73. Bryan Willson, CTO Solix / Doug Henson CEO 74. Bill Brady, CEO, Mascoma 75. Bill Lese, MD, Braemar Energy Ventures 76. Rick Wilson, CEO, Cobalt Technologies 77. Matti Lievonen, CEO, Neste Oil 78. Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries 79. Jack Oswald, CEO, SynGest 80. Bill Hagy, Director, USDA Director of Alternate Energy Policy / Dallas Tonsager, USDA Under Secretary for Rural Development 81. Lonnie Ingram, PhD, Professor, University of Florida 82. Sean O’Hanlon, Executive Director, American Biofuels Council 83. Kirk Haney, CEO, SG Biofuels 84. Joanne Ivancic, Exec Dir, Advanced Biofuels USA 85. John Scott, CEO, PetroAlgae 86. Todd Taylor, Partner, Fredrickson & Byron 87. Rafaello Garofalo, Secretary General, European Biodiesel Board 88. Bliss Baker, MD, Global Renewable Fuels Alliance 89. Tim Cesarak, MD, Organic Growth Group, Waste Management
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90. Philip Wolfe, CEO, UK Renewable Energy Association 91. Phil Bredesen, Governor of Tennessee / Kelly Tiller, CEO Genera Energy, Tim Rials, University of Tennessee 92. John Benemann, PhD, CEO, Benemann Associates 93. Brian Bilbray / Harry Teague / Jay Inslee / Dave Reichart / Mary Bono Mack, US House of Representatives 94. Bill Holmberg, ACORE Biomass Coordinating Council 95. Charles Wyman, Professor, UC Riverside 96. Gary Luce, CEO, Terrabon 97. David Tilman, PhD, Professor, University of Minnesota 98. Michael Wang, Argonne National Laboratory 99. Hunt Ramsbottom, CEO, Rentech 100. Brian Foody, CEO, Iogen
1. Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture
A runaway winner in the voting, Vilsack has been driving hard to implement a strong biofuels policy on behalf of the Obama Administration, and as chair of the Interagency Working Group (comprising the USDA, EPA, and DOE) has clearly been identified by the Digest readership as the key player in establishing policy stability, and pioneering the financing mechanisms to drive bioenergy forward in the 2010s.
2. Jeff Broin, CEO, POET
A number of POET execs polled strongly in the voting – but head and shoulders above the rest has been CEO Jeff Broin, who took charge of a small family ethanol enterprise in the 1980s and transformed it into the Starbucks of corn ethanol – everywhere, strongly branded, home to its own unique culture, and a pioneer both in achieving first generation scale and next-generation technical leadership as the company pioneers its Project LIBERTY cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, IA.
3. Bob Dinneen, President, Renewable Fuels Association