Akermin Names Engineering V.P. for Its Biocatalysts

Paul Gifford Experienced in Developing and Manufacturing Advanced Technologies


ST. LOUIS, Aug. 27, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Akermin Inc., an advanced biocatalyst company, continues progress toward commercializing its biocatalyst products and today announces the appointment of Dr. Paul Gifford as vice president of engineering. Dr. Gifford has spent 16 years working with advanced nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, personally contributing to the development of high-power battery designs used in hybrid vehicles.

"Dr. Gifford brings important industry experience and manufacturing savvy to an already strong technical team," said Louis Hruska, president and chief executive officer. Dr. Gifford reports to Hruska.

"Paul and I have worked together before, and I have seen firsthand his creativity combined with a practical approach to getting products into the marketplace. We are lucky to have him bring that capability to Akermin," Hruska said.

Akermin has combined polymer science and biochemical engineering to create a new structure for enzyme-based catalysts. The breakthrough technology extends the effectiveness and performance range of enzyme catalysts in fuel cells and a broad range of other process reactions. In addition to lower costs, biocatalysts deliver environmental benefits by replacing metal catalysts with renewable enzymes.

"It's exciting to join Akermin at a time when the key scientific milestones have been met, and we are prepared to make progress in application engineering by customizing our stabilized enzyme technology for commercial partners," Dr. Gifford said.

Gifford joins Akermin from Cobasys LLC, formerly Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems, where he served as director of advanced product development. In 1991, he joined Ovonic Battery Company, the firm founded by Stanford Ovshinsky that invented and patented many of the technologies used in NiMH batteries. Dr. Gifford's management achievements include developing a lower-cost, higher-performance, longer-life battery for electric vehicles, leading engineering for manufacturing startup and scale-up, and developing the business case that led to formation of a battery joint venture with General Motors, GM Ovonic LLC.

Before Ovonic, his experience included product management and technical roles with advanced batteries at Duracell, Gates Energy Products and Allied-Signal. Dr. Gifford received a chemistry degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry and electrochemistry from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He holds four U.S. patents and has published more than 50 technical papers.

Dr. Gifford and his wife, Dawn, plan to move to St. Louis from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

His initial focus at Akermin will be on fuel cell development, scaling up prototype technology and design for manufacturing, Hruska said. Akermin's technology has been extensively demonstrated in fuel cells and also can be applied to a broad range of other catalytic reactions, including the production of glucose, biofuels and pharmaceuticals.

Akermin was founded in 2004 by Nick Akers, the company's chief technology officer, using the technology for enzyme stabilization developed in his studies with Dr. Shelley Minteer at St. Louis University. Akermin has the exclusive worldwide license to the enzyme polymer encapsulation technology invented at SLU and the company has received strong support from a group of well-established venture capital investors.

About Akermin

Based in St. Louis, Akermin is an advanced materials company focused on enzymatic biocatalyst structures. By combining polymer science and biochemical engineering, the company's enzyme polymer encapsulation technology enables enzymes to replace traditional metal catalysts in a wide range of chemical and electrochemical processes. This unique, proprietary Stabilized Enzyme Biocatalytic System immobilizes enzymes while retaining their catalytic activity and stabilizing their operating life. Stabilized Enzyme Biocatalytic System is a trademark of Akermin Inc.


            

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