Bridges to Commercialization

by Jim Lane (Biobased DIgest) Bringing your biobased technology forward through the Valley of Death may require a bridge over troubled waters. Here are partners worth knowing.

... Bioenergy commercialization is long, expensive and risky. Derisking the enterprise by making the process shorter, cheaper — and having access to people who’ve been there before….well, its invaluable.

...The type that are “on your side, when times get rough, and friends just can’t be found” as Paul Simon put it. Not an exhaustive list – but ones that developers we have covered in the Digest have partnered with and commented on, cover the major US regions between them, and that fit the five key criteria.

Over the last 25 years, MBI has built a successful track record of innovation in industrial biotechnology, and has commercialized various products and processes through joint-ventures and start-up companies. ...

SwRI’s 11 technical divisions offer a wide range of technical expertise and services in such areas as chemistry, space science, nondestructive evaluation, automation, engine design, mechanical engineering, electronics and more. ...

Like SWRI, it’s a monster with many areas of expertise. Specializations in bioenergy include thermochemical Conversion, acid hydrolysis and waste-to-Energy — with a focus on demonstrating and evaluating a range of advanced energy and waste-to-energy technologies in the renewable and bioenergy sectors. ...

Here’s a hot one – the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs.

The 15,000 square-foot facility is available to Bioenergy Research Centers, DOE-supported researchers, academic institutions, non-profit research organizations, and companies involved in biofuels R&D. ...

Eastman Business Park (a 1,200 acre technology center and industrial complex located near Lake Ontario in Rochester, New York) is currently home to more than 35 companies and on-site suppliers. ... READ MORE