Dow, Novozymes, Ford, Albemarle, Waste Management among early leaders in 40 Hottest Bio Partners voting

Early voting is underway in the 40 Hottest Partners in Bioenergy and Bio-Based Products rankings.

Among the category leaders in the early going: Green Plains Renewable Energy, Harris Group, Novozymes, Solazyme, Waste Management, Khosla Ventures, the USDA, POET-DSM, Mintz Levin, Stoel Rives and Wilson Sonsini, Albemarle, BASF and Koch, Gevo and UOP,  Ford, MBI, the US Navy, and Dow Chemical.

“Some well-known names, but some that are relatively new to the secene, and some big brands that are new to the bio-based space – all in the running and in the mix here,” commented Digest editor Jim Lane. “It’s very much the early going, but already we are surprised to see a number of well-known bio-based brands coming up short, unable so far to marshal their supporters.

Voting by Digest subscribers will continue throughout the month of May, and will form 50 percent of the weighted votes, with the other 50 percent coming from the Digest’s panel of international selectors. Ballot links are in the Digest’s daily Biofuels Digest newsletter. The 40 Hottest Partners will be announced in June.

Here are the leaders on a category-by-category basis:

1. Distributor & Marketer

Green Plains Renewable Energy leads Propel Biofuels, while Blue Ridge and Neatful are trailing.

2.  Engineering, Procurement & Construction     

Harris Group jumped out to an early lead, with Fagen, Poet-DSM and Burns & McDonnell close behind. AMEC, Merrick, Praj and Linde, are in the trailing group, followed by Arcadis.

3.  Enzymes & Sugars   

Novozymes jumped out to a comprehensive lead, with Codexis and Genencor battling out for second, and Dyadic not far behind.

4.  Feedstocks – Energy crops     

Solayme has jumped out ahead with its line of tailored renewable oils, closely followed by Ceres and SG Biofuels solidly established in third.

5.  Feedstocks – Residues     

Waste Management is well in front, followed by POET Biomass – with the others trailing considerably. Looks like a two-horse race.

6.  Financing – Early-Stage     

Khosla’s star power is propelling Khosla Ventures to a slight edge over Waste Management, with the DOE solidly in third, and the rest well behind. Looking like a three-way race here, so far.

7.  Financing – Late-Stage, Commercialization & Strategic Investment 

Here. the USDA rules so far, picking up 37% of the votes, with BP Biofuels training slightly and Waste Management and Valero close behind.  This could be a close race all the way to the finish.

8.  Lab Services   

MBI has gone way in front at 51 percent in the early going, Intertek, Praj and SWRI well behind, but it could develop into a 4-way contest.

9.  Pre-treatment Systems     

It’s a tight race here, with POET-DSM slightly ahead of BlueFire, 24% to 20%, and Praj just behind.

10.  Professional Counselors & Services     

It’s a tightly packed bunch at the top, with Mintz Levin, Stoel Rives and Wilson Sonsini in the lead, and Frederickson & Byron keeping touch in fourth.

11.  Separation, informatics & catalysis systems and services     

Albemarle, BASF and Koch are locked at 27% percent each, well ahead of others on the ballot – Eisenmann still in the hunt as well.

12.  Processing systems and services     

Gevo and UOP have taken the lead here, tied at 33 percent each. Interestingly, Gevo is waxing Butamax pretty badly in the early going, 33 percent to 10 percent.

13.  Vehicle & vehicular equipment systems     

Ford’s on top here at 44 percent, with John Deere and VW keeping touch with the lead, both in the mid 20s.

14.  R&D Partners     

MBI is out slightly ahead here, with Pacific Northwest National Lab leading all the national lans, though Oak Ridge doesn’t trail by much.

15.  Strategic customers—(fuels)   

It’s the Navy by a country mile,  cloaking in at 59 percent – only Valero, Shell, BP and Boeing  are very competitive.

16.  Strategic customers—(bio-based products)     

This is a very competitive race, with Dow currently at 41 percent, edging ahead of Coca Cola and P&G.