Comments on: The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups

By: Will Biobutanol Give New Life to Old Ethanol Plants?

Will Biobutanol Give New Life to Old Ethanol Plants? — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:01:44 +0000

[...] scale without building a fermentation plant from the ground up,” as Lux explained in its ranking of biofuel startups earlier this year. The company formed a subsidiary last fall in its effort to gain access to ethanol capacity [...]

By: Feds Open Up $25M for Risky Research to Make Biofuels, Materials

Feds Open Up $25M for Risky Research to Make Biofuels, Materials — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:42:43 +0000

[...] Lux Research explained in a report earlier this year, the race to scale represents a make-or-break contest for many next-gen biofuel developers, which have a chance to secure funds under NIST’s program. Achieving low enough costs to [...]

By: Trash to Fuel: Enerkem Lands $51.5M Led by Waste Management

Trash to Fuel: Enerkem Lands $51.5M Led by Waste Management — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:49:42 +0000

[...] — paper, textiles, plastics, fibers and the like — and turn that syngas into ethanol. Having deep-pocketed partners will be important for biofuel technology startups, analysts agree, given the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to build and operate fuel [...]

By: Advanced BioFuels USA » The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups

Advanced BioFuels USA » The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:31:31 +0000

[...] Lux finds that each of the five categories “hosts promising producers and future failures.” READ MORE and [...]

By: Max

Max — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:47:22 +0000

Josie – A conclusion of ‘wait and see’ for young start-ups appears redundant, (it’s like saying we should ‘wait and see’ who is first place in the AL-East come June). This report’s methodology seems inconsistent enough to invite scrutiny. I would have appreciated this blog post more if it had provided such scrutiny instead of articulating a synopsis that, at best, serves as a sales pitch for its purchase.

By: Earth2Tech Week in Review

Earth2Tech Week in Review — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:26:30 +0000

[...] The Best & Worst Biofuel Startups: One thing’s clear from a new analysis by Lux Research: While many startups generate buzz when they raise new funds, high profile investors hardly put them first in line for market viability. For young ventures working on cellulosic ethanol and other fuels, scale trumps tech. [...]

By: Brandon Mitchelson

Brandon Mitchelson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:40:25 +0000

BTW.. that's a good point, and question from JR (above). I'd be interested to hear about global efforts too. Guess I'll be checking back!

By: Brandon Mitchelson

Brandon Mitchelson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:38:39 +0000

I was just looking into a local biofuel company, they didn't make your list.. :) But I wanted to say thanks for compiling this information, I found it very interesting and useful.

By: JR

JR — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:21:48 +0000

All those reviewed are North American-based technologies. Where do you see European Union, China, & South American Technology efficacy fit into this array?? As an example, Inbicon recently opened a 1.5Mgpy demonstration facility in Kalundborg, DK.

By: Josie Garthwaite

Josie Garthwaite — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:06:46 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Max. I think we have some common ground here. You're right that there are many determining factors for investors and that ranking early-stage, private companies is a difficult task. And as I've mentioned in the post, there's a whole lot more to market viability than high profile backers.

To your comment that many of these companies are less than five years old, I should note the report focused primarily on young startups. It seems fair to say there's some degree of "wait and see" for any startup in this sector. In this report from Lux, the companies marked as "wait and see" also fell into other categories on a grid based on a set of weighted criteria. Clearly I wouldn't disregard the report altogether -- it serves at the very least as a starting point for discussing what really makes for a strong biofuel startup.