Novomer funnels carbon dioxide into plastics, nabs $14M
Novomer, a polymer company with disruptive potential, has made catalysts capable of transforming carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into plastics and marketable chemicals — and now it’s raised $14 million in a second round of venture funding to scale its technology. Based in Boston, Mass., the company, which relies on an extensive patent estate, is one of a very small handful of firms racing to create biodegradable plastics.
Turning carbon gases into feedstock for profitable chemical… Continue Reading
Ethanol’s a bust, so move to chemicals, says Genomatica
Genomatica, a bioengineering startup that says its scientific approach can rapidly find alternatives to fossil fuel-based chemicals, has some advice for the beleaguered ethanol industry: Don’t make ethanol.
The company has bred a new microorganism capable of going through the same distiller’s process that makes ethanol, but instead producing methyl ethyl ketone, a common industrial solvent also known as butanone or MEK. Chief executive Chris Gann says existing ethanol plants can use the microorganism without making… Continue Reading
Roundup: Green chemicals get started, gaming is ubiquitous, MySpace Music slowed again, and more
Genomatica creates renewable chemical from sugar water — While most chemicals are petroleum-based, several startups are trying to create new alternatives. One of the first to succeed is Genomatica, which says it has a cheap process to make 1,4-butanediol, a component chemical of many common materials, from sugar and water, potentially disrupting a $4 billion industry. More on Genomatica’s process here.
Gaming becoming ubiquitous — A national survey showed that almost all teens play games.
MySpace Music may get… Continue Reading
Genomatica has plans to turn the chemical industry green
The chemicals business has gone through massive shifts in the past, and it’s high time for another one, according to Christopher Gann, the CEO of Genomatica, who recently left a cushy position at industry giant Dow Chemical for the startup. Chemical manufacturing is perched atop the much larger fossil fuel market, thus suffering from the same high prices the rest of the world does — but, says Gann, it can be weaned off hydrocarbons.
Shifting away… Continue Reading