30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals sneak preview: Genomatica

May 26, 2011 |

 
Note to Community members: Welcome to the sneak preview of the 30 Hottest Companies in Renewable Chemicals competition. This month, we are profiling nominees (not winners). Here, we are asking you to rate the companies. Digest Community member ratings will form 33 percent of the overall ballot for this years Hot 30.

Company name:: Genomatica

Company description: Genomatica is the emerging leader in sustainable chemicals: ‘greener’ intermediate and basic chemicals made from renewable feedstocks, rather than oil and gas, at lower cost. Our goal is to transform the chemical industry through cost-advantaged, smaller-footprint products as direct replacements in a trillion-dollar market. Genomatica was named one of ‘10 Big Green Ideas’ by Newsweek, and was featured on Forbes.com.

Year Founded: 2000

Chief Executive Officer: Christophe Schilling

Annual Revenues: N/A

Major Investors: Mohr Davidow Ventures, Alloy Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, TPG Biotech

Type of Processing Technology(ies)

Genomatica’s technology is used to make major intermediate and basic chemicals in a direct, one-step process. This one-step process means fewer processing steps, lower capital costs, greater efficiency, and reduced overall cost. We are able to go directly from renewable feedstocks to the product of interest, as demonstrated with our recent partnership with Waste Management. Genomatica’s technology offers sustainable chemicals at lower costs than petroleum-based alternatives.  The unique integration of technologies cuts years and millions of dollars of R&D investment from developing bio-based processes for making low-cost chemicals.  The organisms and complete manufacturing processes for  Genomatica’s targeted products are developed with high productivity due to our platform.

Our platform has been proven through the record 2.5 year timeline to pilot production for1,4-butanediol, or BDO; and through $20 million of industry and government collaborations. The platform allows us to cost-effectively perform high-throughput ‘in-silico’ (computer-based) design and testing of highly-optimized organisms, manufacturing processes and economics. This results in more efficient, focused lab work, much faster product development and time to commercial-scale manufacturing, lower-cost production, and de-risking of the process.

We are renowned in the industry as the experts in metabolic modeling, and we combine that expertise with cutting-edge experimental technologies to drive the industry’s most efficient R&D process. This means that unlike other biotech firms, Genomatica is able to model, design, create and improve multiple types of organisms and processes, rather than being limited to a single organism or set of pathways. We also design the chemical process engineering steps to produce chemicals that exceed industry standards, in fewer steps and at lower costs.

Products: (renewable chemicals (base, fine, speciality, or platform), or bio-based materials (plastics, polymers, monomers, resins, lubricants, inks, detergents, surfactants, rubbers, adhesives, hardeners, additives, or other materials)

Genomatica is focused on major intermediate and basic chemicals – the core of a trillion dollar global chemical market. These chemicals each have real, existing markets in the billions to scores of billions of dollars. Genomatica’s green, drop-in alternatives speed the greening of the products around us, as the fibers, polymers and plastics around us are made using our sustainable intermediate and basic chemicals.

Our first commercial product is a green version of BDO, proven in pilot production and currently working toward demonstration-scale production. BDO has a $4 billion market worldwide, is used to make spandex, automotive plastics, running shoes and much more.

Major chemicals ‘of high interest’ include isopropanol, butadiene and propylene. Each of these has a multi-billion dollar existing market, and is central to everyday products. Green versions from Genomatica can have a major positive environmental benefit.

Genomatica has significant IP related to many major intermediate and basic chemicals.

Feedstocks:

Genomatica’s flexible feedstock strategy delivers strong economic and practical benefits to its partners for production of sustainable chemicals in all major world geographies.

Near-term, we deliver cost-advantaged production economics using a range of commercially-available sugars, including sucrose from sugar cane and sugar beets, or dextrose from corn.

Longer-term, we expect to deliver further cost advantages by using next-generation cellulosic sugars from biomass and also syngas, which can be generated globally from a wide range or renewable and conventional sources, including municipal waste. Waste Management has signed a joint development agreement with Genomatica to develop technology and processes for making higher-value chemicals from syngas produced from municipal solid waste.

The combination of sugars, biomass and syngas will offer major companies the best diversification of their source materials, reducing business risk and production costs into the future.

Product Cost (if applicable – per US pound): (If you do not manufacture or have long-term stable feedstock pricing, please use the latest December futures contract pricing for traded feedstocks, or $55/ton for untraded biomass – or provide notes on your own feedstock pricing assumptions).

Genomatica has achieved productivity, yield and titer at lab scale that would allow cost competitiveness with the best petro-based BDO cash costs in North America.  Genomatica plans to achieve the overall bio-BDO product performance needed for cost-advantaged production in 2011, followed by the first world-scale manufacturing plant to be operational in late 2013.

Offtake partners (if applicable)

Genomatica is fundamentally committed to partnering, rather than doing it ourselves. We believe that we will more quickly transform the industry and make an impact by helping industry leaders with their products and programs.

Genomatica’s future offtake partners will include chemical companies currently  producing intermediate and basic chemicals from fossil fuels, chemical companies producing downstream chemicals, and product manufacturers.

Partners include Dow, DSM, Unilever, NatureWorks/Cargill, Kyowa Hakko, and Verenium. These partnerships demonstrated the strength of the Genomatica integrated technology platform for modeling and design of a range of organisms and processes. The work both validated and extended Genomatica’s platform. New partnerships are focused on the commercial development and production of targeted intermediate and basic chemicals.

Co-products (if applicable) (e.g. feed, fuel)

Because our organisms are tuned to target a single, high-value chemical, Genomatica processes do not produce any co-products.

Top Milestones for 2009-10

On February 9, 2011, Waste Management and Genomatica announced a strategic joint development agreement to research and advance Genomatica’s technology and manufacturing processes to enable production of intermediate and basic chemicals from syngas made from municipal solid waste. Under the agreement, Genomatica will create proprietary, specially-designed organisms and complete manufacturing processes to efficiently and economically convert syngas into chemical products.

Genomatica had numerous patent filings throughout 2009 and 2010. By the end of 2010, 25 applications had been published. The published applications cover some of our earliest work, and we also have significant intellectual property related to dozens of major intermediate and basic chemicals.

Two of our recent patents announced in October of 2010 further enable Genomatica’s product strategy and feedstock flexibility. Patent number 7,799,545, titled “Microorganisms for the production of adipic acid and other compounds,” describes how to produce a “green” version of key intermediate chemicals used to produce nylon. Patent number 7,803,589, titled “Methods and organisms for utilizing synthesis gas or other gaseous carbon sources and methanol,” describes how to engineer an organism to use syngas as a feedstock to make green, sustainably produced versions of major chemical products.

In June of 2010, Genomatica achieved two key commercialization milestones ahead of schedule. First, the company achieved pilot-scale validation, at 3,000 liters, of the manufacturability and commercial viability of a ‘green’ version of BDO, its first commercial product. Second, the company confirmed the accelerated development time and reduced development and production costs made possible through use of its technology platform, from concept to commercialization.

In March of 2010, Genomatica raised $15 million to commercialize its low-cost, high-efficiency sustainable chemicals platform. The investment allowed Genomatica to accelerate the development and scale-up of its flagship process for commercial-scale production of BDO. Beyond BDO, the funding also enabled Genomatica to expand its pipeline to include additional major basic and intermediate chemical targets that the company aims to produce from renewable feedstocks.

3 Major Milestone Goals for 2011‐13

In 2011, scaling the bio-based process for BDO will be a key company goal.  After proving the cost-effectiveness of the process at pilot scale in 2010, only demonstration-scale production remains before commercialization.  By 2013, we envision our first commercial-scale production facility. Lower costs for bio-based production will enable adoption by multiple large chemical producers.

Partnerships to foster scaling will also be among the critical company milestones for 2011.  Just two months into the year, we have already announced one key joint development agreement with Waste Management. We are excited to share more agreements in the near future.

Business Model: (e.g. owner-operator, technology licensor, fee-based industry supplier, investor)

Genomatica is bringing our technology to market in close cooperation with a range of strategic partners. Our process is economically feasible at smaller scale than the current industry standard.  This allows existing BDO producers to build new, greener plants near the available feedstock or end-use customer.  Partners could also include feedstock suppliers such as sugar producers, landfills or corn wet mills, who can realize higher value from what would otherwise be viewed as waste or a commodity, or major chemical customers that want closer control of their supplies and pricing.

Competitive Edge(s):

Genomatica has developed a one-step process, going directly from renewable feedstocks to the product of interest. This means fewer processing steps, lower capital costs, greater efficiency, and reduced overall cost. Genomatica’s process outperforms existing chemical processes on cost, flexibility and environmental impact.  Because the process is mechanically simpler than traditional methods, the factories will be simpler and less expensive to build. With 50% lower capex for factories and lower ongoing costs, our partners will see significant savings over the competition.

Our process replaces oil and natural gas with renewable feedstocks like sugar, biomass or eventually syngas. Instead of competing with energy and transportation to secure the oil and natural gas needed to make chemicals, our sugar-to-BDO process allows a more diversified starting point for production.  Adding renewable feedstocks to oil and natural gas diversifies chemical companies, providing them with more business stability.

Third, Genomatica’s processes have a lower environmental impact. Our first commercial product, BDO, will have lower greenhouse gas emissions by 70% – with a potential impact of 7 billion pounds per year. Our process for BDO is 60% lower-energy than competing processes.

Distribution, Research, Marketing or Production Partnerships or Alliances:

On February 9, 2011, Waste Management and Genomatica announced a strategic joint development agreement to research and advance Genomatica’s technology and manufacturing processes to enable production of intermediate and basic chemicals from syngas made from municipal solid waste.  Under the agreement, Genomatica will create proprietary, specially-designed organisms and complete manufacturing processes to efficiently and economically convert syngas into chemical products.

Genomatica has been working with other leading corporate firms since it was founded in 2000. Partners include Dow, DSM, Unilever, NatureWorks/Cargill, Kyowa Hakko, and Verenium. These partnerships have used the Genomatica integrated technology platform for the modeling and design of a range of organisms and processes. The work both validated and extended Genomatica’s platform. New partnerships are focused on the commercial development and production of targeted intermediate and basic chemicals.

Genomatica’s advisory boards have been recognized for outstanding contributions to metabolic engineering. Six members of Genomatica’s Scientific Advisory Board were elected to the National Academy of Engineering, along with three members of the company’s Engineering Advisory Council.

Stage: (Bench, pilot, demonstration, commercial)

Genomatica has been successfully producing at pilot scale since the first half of 2010, and will be producing at demonstration scale in 2011.

Projected production volume for 2011: N/A

Website URL: www.genomatica.com

Category: Fuels

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