California venture LS9 introduces higher-yield biofuel approach

Gristmill reports on the progress of LS9, which is developing a new synthetic biofuel from microorganisms. The venture, backed by ethanol venture capitalist Vinod Khosla’s Khosla Ventures, predicts that its process will yield 50% more energy from the same feedstocks as used today, will use 65% less energy in the process, can be transported by existing oil pipelines and used in non-flex-fuel engines. It can be expected that the firms results will vary based on the feedstock chosen, and the potential from switchgrass should receive close attention. The promise of using existing oil pipelines is significant for emission and efficiency reasons. The potential that 100% concentrations of the fuel would not require flex-fuel engines is of particular interest.

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