Genomics guru Craig Venter and his startup Synthetic Genomics might be hitting some hurdles with their partnership with Exxon, but on Monday the company announced that it will create a joint venture with Mexican investing group Plenus to use genomics to create more sustainable crop production. Read More »
Cleantech
Biofuels made from algae that will be able to scale, and compete with oil, will have to be synthesized and will not come from nature, says genomics scientist and entrepreneur Craig Venter. That notion could put a damper on Venter’s current deal with oil giant Exxon. Read More »
Grab your biofuel startups fast, Lux Research says — the field of contenders with game-changing technologies for turning non-food feedstocks into useful hydrocarbons is getting sparser by the minute. The report sees Big Oil and consumer products conglomerates quickly winnowing the field of the best technologies. Read More »
Joule Unlimited, a startup that promises to genetically engineer an organism that eats CO2 and produces a drop-in diesel fuel, has landed a patent on its “recombinant biosynthesis” technology. Read More »
Dutch oil giant Shell and Brazilian ethanol giant Cosan sealed the deal Wednesday on a $12 billion joint venture to turn sugarcane into pump-ready fuel. How will the massive partnership affect Codexis, Shell’s biocatalyst partner and recent entrant to the public markets? Read More »
The billion-dollar balance sheet of Exxon and the brain of genomics guru Craig Venter have led to one of algae fuel’s biggest market breakthroughs. Now Exxon and Venter’s Synthetic Genomics have opened their first greenhouse test facility. Read More »
GE Chief Calls for Swift, Certain Climate Policy: “What’s most important for the U.S. is that we go from Copenhagen, go into 2010, and have the courage to act on clean energy,” General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt told a conference on renewable energy at Clemson University… Read More »
Judging from the flurry of venture-capital deals, big oil company investments, and attention from politicians on startups creating biofuels from algae, it might seem like the world has fallen in love with the technology to power vehicles with pond scum. But after… Read More »
In the world of big oil balance sheets, Exxon’s decision to invest $600 million into an algae fuel deal with startup Synthetic Genomics is kind of like oil finally agreeing to take algae out on a date. While it’s definitely a first step in a… Read More »
What About Charging?: The Department of Energy is spending $2.4 billion to help develop technology for electric vehicles, but relatively little has been awarded for a crucial element that remains in short supply: the infrastructure needed to recharge vehicles once they are on the road.
The idea of using algae to produce fuel for vehicles has been the blockbuster topic of the summer. Major deals have recently been done by heavyweights like Exxon, and Synthetic Genomics, Sapphire Energy and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investments, and more funding… Read More »
The race to bring pond scum to fuel tanks has acquired high stakes in recent years, with venture capitalists, federal agencies and legacy oil companies pouring millions of dollars into the technology. Today ExxonMobil and startup Synthetic Genomics announced one of the biggest deals yet:… Read More »
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