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THE CHALLENGE: Today’s world faces a convergence of pressures arising from the end of the era of low-cost oil that fueled global prosperity in the 20th century. Diminishing oil supplies, growing concentration of petroleum in the hands of unstable or hostile political regimes, and the mounting threat of climate change all point toward the need for new ways to produce fuels and other chemical products in the 21st century. For decades, fossilized hydrocarbons have formed the primary building blocks for fuels, plastics, drugs, industrial chemicals and even foodstuffs -- in short, the essentials of modern life. How will mankind continue to meet these needs as oil supplies dwindle and constraints on carbon emissions become binding?
Industrial Sustainability Means Renewable, Cost-Efficient Biomass Must Replace Nonrenewable Hydrocarbons
Verenium Corporation is developing new pathways to derive these same chemical building blocks from abundant, cellulosic biomass -- natural resources that are both renewable and widely distributed throughout the world. With its unique combination of expertise in enzymatic and fermentation technology, Verenium is developing new, lower-cost ways to produce these chemical building blocks and cost-effective, lower-impact substitutes. For example, Verenium’s fermentation process technology can be used to derive cheap sugars from common feedstocks for fuels production. Its DirectEvolution technology harnesses the power of enzymes to synthesize from living matter a wide range of novel compounds with unique properties tailored for specific applications. Verenium’s mission is to apply these technological capabilities to achieve industrial sustainability -- meeting the common needs of modern life from carbohydrates (the energy flows that are produced and stored in living biomass) rather than hydrocarbons (fossilized energy stocks that have been stored for countless millennia in the earth’s crust). Verenium’s innovative approach promises dramatic reductions in the carbon footprint of fuels production and other common industrial processes.
Verenium’s Biofuel’s Focus
The market for clean automotive fuels represents one of the most urgent near-term needs for low-carbon solutions. Verenium is a leader in process technology for cellulosic ethanol -- a clean-burning fuel derived from biological feedstocks (such as canes, grasses, hardwoods and softwoods) that are readily available outside the food chain. Cellulosic ethanol is widely recognized as the most promising way to meet our need for clean fuels with dramatically lower energy inputs and net carbon emissions. The near-term demand for low-carbon fuels is vast and immediate. Federal policy initiatives mandate the production of billions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol within the next decade.
Going Beyond Biofuels
Verenium’s vision for industrial sustainability, however, goes far beyond biofuels. Today, the company’s unique DirectEvolution technology for the rapid screening, identification and expression of enzymes supports a range of innovative industrial products that efficiently meet high-value commercial needs. The company is engaged in a wide range of industrial collaborations to broaden the reach of its enzymatic technology. Verenium. The Nature of Energy.
