Amyris, OPX Biotechnology and Genencor win Product of the Year awards

In Florida, Biofuels Digest announced that Amyris, OPX Biotechnology and Genencor won Product of the Year awards, among this year’s roster of Biofuels Digest Award winners.

The award for Product of the Year (fuels) went to Amyris for its farnesane molecule, which it is now producing in Brazil. Made by adding hydrogen to farnesene (itself produced via Amyris’s novel modified yeast fermentation technology), it can be utilized as a drop-in replacement for fossil-based diesel fuels.

Product of the Year (renewable chemicals) went to OPX Biotechnology for its work in reducing the production cost of bioacrylic by more than 85 percent in its pilot production process, using sugars and syngas as feedstocks.

Product of the Year (bio-based products) went to Genencor for its development of bioisoprene and, in partnership with Goodyear, the development of renewable technology for the production of tires, using a novel fermentation process based on  an engineered molecule.

The Biofuels Digest awards, first established in 2008, recognize excellence in the research, development and commercialization of biofuels, renewable chemicals and bio-based products. The awards are voted by the Biofuels Digest editorial board, based on nominations submitted by the Digest’s readership.