BioEnergy Int'l Licenses Biocatalyst Technology to Purac

The bioconversion field isn't just dedicated to the production of biofuels - it's technologies can also be used to convert renewable feedstocks, grains and cellulosic wastes into useful specialty chemicals.

See the press release below about a new agreement between catalyst manufacturer BioEnergy International, LLC and Purac Biochem N.V.

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BioEnergy International Licenses Biocatalyst Technology to Purac, the Largest Lactic Acid Producer in the World

6/6/2006
BioEnergy International, LLC ("BioEnergy"), a developer of biorefineries and proprietary technologies to produce specialty chemicals and fuels from renewable feedstocks, grains and cellulosic wastes, announced today that it has signed an agreement to license one of its proprietary biocatalysts to Purac Biochem N.V., the largest lactic acid producer in the world. BioEnergy has an exclusive research agreement with the University of Florida and Dr. Lonnie Ingram to develop technologies to produce certain biorefined specialty chemicals from sugars and cellulose.

Purac will undertake commercial scale-up trials during 2006 to produce market development quantities of a new product using BioEnergy's proprietary biocatalyst and anticipates strong market interest. Under the terms of the exclusive agreement, BioEnergy will receive research funding and milestone payments prior to commercial production. Assuming successful commercial scale-up, BioEnergy will receive milestone payments and royalties from Purac's future sales and use.

"The signing of this agreement will accelerate the commercialization of our biocatalyst technology and furthers the advancement of our renewable resource-based products and materials efforts," stated Stephen Gatto, Chief Executive Officer of BioEnergy. "Based on the success of our collaboration effort on this project, we look forward to working with Purac to commercialize this technology and explore other opportunities of mutual interest."

"This novel catalyst is just the first of several in our pipeline which BioEnergy has targeted for commercial deployment over the next three to five years," stated Dr. Joseph Glas, Vice President, Research and Development, BioEnergy. "We have a strong partnership with the University of Florida and Dr. Ingram that has led to the development of several promising new biocatalysts for the production of specialty chemicals."

technorati bioenergy, chemistry, feedstock, catalyst