50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy TRENDS: Renewable Chemicals

In yesterday’s release of the 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy for 2010-11, we noted the large number of companies that have expanded their product portfolio to include renewable chemicals.

Amyris, Solazyme, LS9, Gevo, Codexis, Virent, Mascoma, Cobalt Technologies, Genencor, Joule Unlimited, Bluefire Renewables, Algenol, ZeaChem, LanzaTech, Terrabon, and Fulcrum Bioenergy all have indicated that renewable chemicals are potential additional products in their portfolio. In all, 16 of the Hot 50, 11 of the top 25, and four of the top 5. Trend.

We expect more companies to add renewable chemicals to their product line, more companies to adopt a “chemicals first” strategy, and more companies to shift from “chemicals first” to “fuel maybe, chemicals front and center” as they seek additional capital for scale, or exits for nervous VC boards looking for the side doors.

The Digest’s Take: Expect at least one, and perhaps two, major bioenergy companies to shift substantially over towards even more emphasis on renewable chemicals before the end of the year.