The 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy: Most-Read Stories of the Year, #1

This past year, nothing drew your attention more than awards and recognition, with algae-based companies like Solazyme and Sapphire Energy rocketing to the top of this year’s 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy poll. Solazyme edged out corn ethanol giant POET, which attracted attention in both reader voting and a poll of 75 international selectors for its advances in productivity and cellulosic ethanol. Among “magic bug” companies, Amyris snagged #3 and LS9 moved strongly in the top 10 at #8. Cellulosic ethanol pioneers Coskata (#6), DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (#7), Verenium (#9) and Mascoma (#10) rounded out the top 10, out of more than 1400 companies eligible in the competition.

The Transformative Technology 30 was a reader-voted competition that allowed entries from national labs and universities (as well as companies), and focused on technology strength as opposed to, for example, marketing muscle or brand recognition. Organizations like the Masdar Instutute of Science, SES- Seaweed Energy SOlutions, Green Biologics, Ford Motor Company, Butamax, and The Seawater Foundation were among those – not previously recognized in DIgest Wards – who joined the Transformative Technology 30’s final list in a hotly-contested reader poll conducted this spring.

In the Biofuels Digest Awards, selected by the Digest’s editorial board, aviation biofuels leaders such as Sustainable Oils, Sapphire Energy, Solazyme, Rentech, Honeywell’s UOP and Terasol were recognized for their contributions to feedstock development and processing technologies for renewable jet fuel.