In political circles, the theme of \u201cBetter Together\u201d has been under siege of late \u2014 barely winning (for now) in the Scotland independence, debate, and losing unexpectedly in the Brexit vote \u2014 but it remains a theme for surviving and thriving in the advanced bioeconomy.<\/p>\n
We tipped it a few months ago, in \u201cThe Rise of Organic Manufacturing.\u201d The signs are getting more and more obvious: ecosystems are forming in the advanced bioeconomy and everyone better get on the bandwagon. Or one bandwagon. (For example, consider The emerging synthetic biology ecosystem: The Digest\u2019s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Ginkgo BioWorks.<\/a>)<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s not a shocker but certainly fascinating to see high activity on two partnerships from Planet Novozymes this week. One where Novozymes is the giant, the other where it has junior partner status in balance sheet terms. Today, Leaf Resources and Novozymes unveiled a collaboration to further increase the yields and efficiency associated with Leaf Resources\u2019 innovative biomass conversion technology.<\/p>\n The Gycell technology operates at low temperature and pressure, and uses crude glycerin as a low cost, recyclable reagent. The process efficiently deconstructs plant biomass and produces a high-yield of high-quality, concentrated cellulose and hemicellulose sugars, which in turn enables cost competitive production of renewable chemicals.<\/p>\n As part of the collaboration, Novozymes will use its expertise in biotechnology to customize its broad portfolio of robust, high-yielding enzymes to the Gycell process. The goal of the collaboration is to design a highly tailored enzyme package that allows the Gycell process to achieve superior performance, quality, and reliability for the production of high-value renewable chemicals. Leaf and its development partner, Claeris, LLC, will then incorporate Novozymes\u2019 tailored enzyme package into the biomass pretreatment section of integrated biorefineries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe combined scientific expertise of our companies makes it possible to enhance the conversion of biomass to sugars which, when combined with the development expertise of Claeris, will help accelerate the development of renewable chemicals,\u201d says Michael Burns, Head of Biorefining Business Development for North America at Novozymes. \u201cThere is a clear move towards sustainable chemical production and we believe the combination of Claeris and the Gycell process will help further enable the industry.\u201d Technology overview: Cellulosic sugars heading for scale: The Digest\u2019s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Leaf Resources<\/a><\/p>\n Financial latest: Leaf Resources raises $2.35M in placement<\/p>\n Project development latest: Leaf Resources advances towards commercial-scale biochemical project in Malaysia<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLeaf Resources, Novozymes launch biomass-to-sugars collaboration<\/p>\n
\nThe Leaf Resources backstory<\/p>\n