I hate to hear this type of news, but Amyris is one of the few remaining longest-running start-up companies I’ve covered since my ICIS days (around 2005). While artificial intelligence and digitalization have now come a long way, the field of synthetic biology remains difficult to commercialize, more so if a start-up is competing with … Continue reading
Swiss-based flavours and fragrances (F&F) powerhouse Givaudan announced last month its plan to acquire certain cosmetic ingredients from synthetic biotech company Amyris, including a high-performance emollient Neossance® Squalane, the plant-based silicone alternative Neossance® Hemisqualane and CleanScreen™, a sun protector ingredient. This is an interesting development, given that Amyris currently sells several skincare products that use … Continue reading
I guess Amyris will have some serious competition for its sugar-based squalene. Calyxt, a synthetic biology company based in Minnesota, announced this week that it has successfully produced squalene using its Calyxt-engineered Plant Cell Matrix™ biomass. Squalene is traditionally sourced from shark liver oil, but companies across several industries, including cosmeceuticals and pharmaceuticals, have already … Continue reading
I have not covered Amyris as much as I would like to in the past few years as the company is more focused on highly-specialised chemicals compared to the products I typically cover for Tecnon OrbiChem’s monthly Bio-Materials report. However, it is interesting to hear that the company has finally started its new precision fermentation … Continue reading
Novvi LLC and Chevron both announced the successful start-up of its Deer Park, TX plant, where it is manufacturing and marketing 100% renewable base oils for the lubricants industry, and 100% renewable process oils for polymer, adhesives, and personal care industries. Novvi said it added key processing steps and debottlenecked capabilities to make the Deer … Continue reading
Research, development and commercialisation of various bio-based adhesive technologies have steadily risen driven by factors such as low VOC and carbon emission requirements; the need to lower costs of transporting and storing hazardous substances; growing consumer preference for plant-based materials and the need to reduce fossil dependence; as well as potential regulations stimulating the market … Continue reading
I really commend Amyris’s impressive PR machine as I keep getting constant updates from the company every month. This one is interesting as the company announced today an agreement with Phyto Tech Corp (doing business as Blue California) where its affiliates will provide access to its fermentation manufacturing in China and provide the necessary capital … Continue reading
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CJ CheilJedang has definitely been very busy this year in the bio-sphere. Amyris and South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support large-scale manufacturing of Amyris’s farnesene in existing CJ facilities. The arrangement described in the MOU would enable Amyris to utilize CJ’s manufacturing capacity while minimizing the capital … Continue reading
These are late news but better late than never. It is refreshing to hear capacity expansion for renewable chemicals (even those that are just at pilot/demo scale) in the midst of low crude oil price environment. Montana-based Rivertop Renewables announced that it has exceeded the nameplate capacity of its first commercial production facility during benchmark testing. … Continue reading