4 minutes with… Lars Welin, CEO, Taurus Energy

Tell us about your organization and it’s role in the advanced bioeconomy.

Taurus Energy is a company working to develop the best posibble yeast for fermentation of c5 sugars it is a research company and owns a number of patents around the subject we are working mainly in the USA, Europe, Brazil and India

Tell us about your role and what you are focused on in the next 12 months.

My role as CEO of the company is to guide it to be a successful company within biofuels we are continuously working to improve the performance of our yeast and we work with a number of customers mainly in USA Brazil and India.

We work with customers and their hydrolysate and try to provide a yeast that can ferment the hydrolysate in a short time and utilize all available sugar.

What do you feel are the most important milestones the industry must achieve in the next 5 years?

To get the industrial ethanol plants for the second generation ethanol running which have been built during this year we hope they will be a success story we also hope that we can get the EU directive in place regarding biofuel and its future in next year.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the advanced bioeconomy, what would you change?

Get the authorities in various countries to decide on the future for biofuel and the overall energy situation.

Of all the reasons that influenced you to join the advanced bioeconomy industry, what single reason stands out for you as still being compelling and important to you?

The future outlook and the interesting technology.

Where are you from? 

Sweden

What was your undergraduate major in college, and where did you attend? Why did you choose that school and that pathway? 

Master of Science at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, and an MBA from Wharton Business School in Philadelphia.

What’s the biggest lesson you ever learned during a period of adversity?

To work together with other colleagues and have a common goal.

What hobbies do you pursue, away from your work in the industry? 

Family, walking, reading

What 3 books would you take to read, if stranded on a desert island?

Warren Buffett

What books or articles are on your reading list right now, or you just completed and really enjoyed?

All articles around ethanol production both first and second generation

What’s your favorite city or place to visit, for a holiday?

Barcelona Spain