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Special
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Written by Mia Jarumayan
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Tuesday, 11 January 2011 15:52 |
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Page views: 2573 |
Last December 2010, BiofuelsDigest came out with its list of “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy 2010-2011”. “Bioenergy” is the broader term that applies to biomass systems that produce heat, electricity and fuel while “biofuel” pertains to liquid fuels, derived from biomass, used for transportation.
As a backgrounder, BiofuelsDigest is one of the most widely read online digests on biofuels with specific focus on the US market. Its Top 50 Companies, therefore, are mostly US-based. In this article, we look at just the Top 5 namely:
1. Amyris Bioetechnologies, Inc. 2. Solazyme 3. POET 4. LS9 5. Gevo
Of the top 5, 3 companies namely Amyris, LS9 and Gevo are into specialty enzymes and microbes. Solazyme is into algal technology while Poet is in cellulosic ethanol development. All companies can be classified as being involved in 2nd generation biofuels, technology that it not yet commercially widespread in the US and does not even exist yet here in Asia.
Second generation biofuel technologies aim to increase sustainable biofuels production by using non-food biomass such as stems, leaves and husks. The Philippines, being an agricultural country, produces large amounts of these types of biomass so the potential of 2nd generation biofuels is huge in this country.
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