Promising Projects: A Report from BIO's World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology 2015

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July 31, 2015

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A plenary session at the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology (July 19, 2015, Montreal).

by Stefaniya Becking* (Advanced Biofuels USA) If one is looking for an international gathering of leaders in industrial biotechnology to expand their professional network and form new partnerships, the World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology is the place to be. “I have been attending this conference for years because this is a transactional conference, where deals happen,” summarized one of the delegates from Australia. More than 1,300 delegates from 45 countries attended this event that was organized by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and took place on July 19-22, 2015. Speakers covered a wide range of topics related to advanced biofuels, bio-based products and genomics research.

At the conference, researchers, startup entrepreneurs and corporate executives showcased how they continue to realize the ideas that challenge the existing way of producing or procuring goods.

Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (ISEAS) at Masdar City

This image (courtesy of the Masdar Institute) summarizes Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (ISEAS) project.

Mr. Alejandro Rios Galvan, Director at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, highlighted one such research-stage project. The project involves building a pilot facility to produce seafood and oilseed crops (suitable for biofuel production) using seawater in Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The region, characterized by arid climate and abundant seawater, is a perfect ground for testing the feasibility of producing food and fuel locally without using scarce freshwater supplies. “Our concept for bioenergy production could be applied to the UAE and many other arid regions of the world,” stressed Galvan.

The key for integrating aquaculture with agriculture in this project is using halophyte plant species that can thrive in salty waters. Only about 1,600 plant species belong to a group known as halophytes [1] [2]. Saltwater will be pumped into controlled ponds with fish or shrimp, then the ponds’ wastewater effluent rich in nutrients such as nitrogen will be used to irrigate fields with halophytes. Shrimp and/or fish and halophyte biomass would be the outputs of this integrated production scheme. The shrimp and fish would be destined for food markets, while biomass can be converted into bioenergy, including biofuel.

Performance BioFilaments -- Auto Industry Plastic Reinforcement from Wood Cellulose

This image (courtesy of Performance BioFilaments) illustrates the extraction of cellulose filaments from wood material.

In addition to research projects, numerous startup companies highlighted their products at the conference. One such company was Performance BioFilaments, a one-year-old spinoff from two large forest products companies, Mercer International Inc. and Resolute Forest Products. Performance BioFilaments aims to commercialize cellulose filaments – a product derived from wood fiber. Cellulose filaments could be used to reinforce plastic. “Plastic reinforced by cellulose filaments is lighter and stronger and could replace fiberglass [also known as glass-fiber reinforced plastic] in vehicles, thus increasing vehicles’ fuel economy thanks to reduced vehicle weight,” commented Mr. Gurminder Minhas, Managing Director at Performance BioFilaments.

The company procures polypropylene (PP) plastic, modifies the plastic by reinforcing it with cellulose filaments, then turns the resulting material into pellets that could be used in the existing infrastructure for making auto parts with injection molding process. Performance BioFilaments is in discussions with automakers such as Ford and hopes to be introduced into their supply chain. “Our next steps are to demonstrate that we can produce material that meets design and performance specifications and to demonstrate recyclability of the material,” said Minhas. He expects it would take 2 to 3 years for their plastic reinforced with cellulose filaments to be fully integrated into automakers’ supply chains.

As the activity in the bio-based products field abounds at the research and startup company level, large corporations continue to take notice and be involved in the emerging bio-based economy. Representatives from Coca-Cola, Exxon Mobil, BP, Boeing, Du Pont and other large corporations attended and/or presented at the conference.

KLM’s Plans on Using Renewable Jet Fuel

From left to right: Ignaas Caryn (Director of Innovation at KLM), Stefaniya Becking (Advanced Biofuels USA), Luuk A.M. van der Wielen (Professor at Delft University of Technology)

One such large corporation, Air France KLM, the 4^th largest airline company in the world based on sales, continues to integrate the use of biofuels in their operations [3]. The company views the biofuel use as the only way to significantly reduce aircraft emissions. “KLM set a goal of achieving 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 2011 levels,” highlighted Mr. Ignaas Caryn, Director of Innovation at KLM. Caryn continued: “The more immediate goal is to continuously use aviation fuel with a 1% blend of biofuel, which would translate into using about 30 thousand metric ton/year of biofuel.” Even though this is a tiny dent in the global demand for aviation fuel, given that, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (US EIA), 149 million metric tons of jet fuel was consumed in the year 2013 worldwide, this commitment signifies an important trend in the airline industry [4].

For Air France KLM, another driver for being an early adopter of biofuels is managing cost. Caryn reported that Air France KLM spent USD $7.2 billion on aviation fuel in the year 2014, which makes up 30-35% of airline’s operating costs. “Having an array of fuel sources could reduce dependency on one fuel source and the price volatility that comes with it,” said Mr. Caryn.

Caryn also emphasized that the use of biofuels brings a competitive advantage: “A leading role in sustainability offers stronger stakeholder relations." To this end, KLM engaged partners with expertise in sustainability such as SkyNRG’s Sustainability Board and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials as the company works on meeting its targets. KLM also launched a Corporate Biofuel Program with 16 companies signed up so far. These corporate customers demonstrate a market demand for sustainable aviation fuel and help KLM to offset part of the high biofuel price.

Biochemical Development as Nursery for Biofuel Development

Even though the demand for biofuels is growing, a number of delegates noted a trend in the industry of shifting the focus from producing biofuel to producing bio-based specialty chemicals. Focusing on bio-based specialty chemicals as compared to biofuels allows companies to sell high-value products that stay nearly unaffected by low oil prices. That said, the trend of rethinking the old ways of doing business, shifting mindset and innovating remains strong in the bio-based, renewable products industry.

References

[1] The University of Sussex. “eHALOPH – Halophytes Database.” http://www.sussex.ac.uk/affiliates/halophytes/index.php?content=about. Web. 26 July 2015.

[2] Royal Botanic Gardens. “Salt Tolerance (eHALOPH).” http://data.kew.org/sid/halophyte.html. Web. 26 July 2015.

[3] Forbes. “The World’s Biggest Public Companies. 2015 Rankings.” http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/#header:revenue_sortreverse:true_industry:Airline. Web. 26 July 2015.

[4] U.S. Energy Information Administration (US EIA). “International Energy Statistics.” http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/data/browser/# . Web. 26 July 2015.

*Stefaniya Becking is a professional with 10+ years of experience in environmental engineering field and information technology applied to creating more sustainable communities. She volunteers for Advanced Biofuels USA by writing articles that cover conference events around the world related to biomass economy. More info is available on her LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/stefaniya

Other reports about BIO's World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology 2015 from Biofuels Digest: on Aurora Algae; LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren; Blume Distillation; DSM, and others