Joule Biotechnologies: 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profile

Joule Biotechnologies
Based in: Massachusetts
2008-09 ranking: Unranked

Business: Joule is pioneering a transformative technology that we believe supersedes existing and emergent cellulosic or algal biomass-derived fuel approaches by employing genetically engineered photosynthetic organisms that directly convert sunlight and waste CO2 to fuel and chemical molecules. Our proprietary Helioculture™ technology is being designed to produce liquid energy in the form of ethanol and diesel that will target the worldwide need for renewable, clean transportation fuels at a price expected to meet or beat market pricing. We also may create a whole range of petroleum-derived chemical products to be commercialized via partnerships with industry leaders.

Model: Options for Joule will range from direct sale of liquid energy and chemical products, to partnerships and joint ventures with existing market leaders and CO2 producers, to OEM and licensing arrangements enabled by the company’s intellectual property platform and know-how. As a result, the strategy over the short-term will be to continue to drive the technology towards commercialization and let partnership discussions and access to capital dictate the best way to create shareholder value. Joule has the advantage of a team of seasoned professionals with proven experience creating significant shareholder value in multi-business unit models.

Past milestones:

1. Achieved significant progress in the development of Helioculture™ technology and a proprietary, genome engineering toolkit, and important progress addressing the technical challenges of scalable reactor and large-scale process design.
2. Achieved first long-term ethanol production in SolarConverter™ system, and first outdoor production.
3. Achieved cellular production of diesel in the lab.

Future milestones:

1. Continue gains in productivity and yield for Joule ethanol and Joule diesel liquid energy.
2. Continue optimization of our SolarConverter systems.
3. Commence pilot plant operations for Joule ethanol and diesel liquid energy.

Metrics: Fuel cost (per gallon) is Estimated at the energy equivalent of less than $50 per barrel for diesel and less than $81 per barrel for ethanol. To date, Joule has demonstrated in the lab proof of principle on greater than 10 fuels and chemicals.

Joule Biotechnology quotable quotes:

“Joule’s Helioculture™ technology has a number of distinct advantages. Relative to fossil fuels or to biomass-derived methods, it has a Direct-to-Product™ process, thus eliminating costly middle steps such as fermentation, large-scale biomass removal or other down-stream refinement. In addition, Joule’s process has the capability of achieving up to 10X more efficient land use versus biomass-derived methods without the need for agricultural land or clean water. By eliminating raw material feedstock requirements, the technology also removes a costly component that can be subject to significant fluctuations in price and availability. The Helioculture™ technology is being designed to offer a high net energy yield, to be highly modular and scalable and to provide a technology platform capable of making multiple products.”

The Hot 50 for 2009-10 will be released Tuesday, 12/1. Between now and then, you’ll see profiles of potential candidates in the Digest, and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorites. Reader response will count for 50 percent of a company’s overall score in the preparation of the rankings. The remaining 50 percent is voted by a panel of experts.

Information on registering your company for the “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” rankings is here. While registration is not required, completing the candidate profile allows companies to augment information provided to the panel of selectors – registration form materials are also used to create candidate profiles that are published daily in Biofuels Digest.

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