EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 08, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMRS), the industrial bioscience company, today announced that it has won a three-year multi-million dollar contract from the U.S. Department of Energy (‘DOE’) to further the manufacturing of cellulose-derived farnesene for biofuels. Amyris, in cooperation with Renmatix and Total New Energies USA (‘Total’), will work to develop a manufacturing-ready process utilizing wood as the cellulosic feedstock to produce farnesene, a hydrocarbon building block used to manufacture a variety of products ranging from cosmetics to detergents, as well as base oils, lubricants, diesel and jet fuel.
“We’re pleased to partner with Renmatix and Total in furthering the advancement of cellulose-derived farnesene,” said John Melo, President & CEO of Amyris. “Success in this project could enable farnesene cost below $1 a liter, which will deliver breakthrough results in a variety of products, including biofuels, while at the same time leveraging the existing large forestry infrastructure to utilize renewable wood sources and wood waste as a sugar source to produce it.”
Advancements in the use of cellulosic materials as a source of low-cost sugars for fermentation are anticipated to bring down the cost of production and has the potential to increase geographical distribution of manufacturing plants, especially in rural areas in need of new economic opportunities. The goal of this project is to produce farnesene at the same projected cost of current farnesene produced from sugarcane syrup. This would expand the global availability of farnesene in general, as well as increase the number of potential product applications for which this building block can be used.
Under this Amyris-led three-year contract, Amyris expects to receive several million dollars annually over the term of the contract as it achieves technical milestones tracking progress towards lower cost production of cellulosic farnesene.
About Amyris
Amyris is the integrated renewable products company that is enabling the world’s leading brands to achieve sustainable growth. Amyris applies its innovative bioscience solutions to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules, specialty ingredients and consumer products. The company is delivering its No Compromise® products in focused markets, including specialty and performance chemicals, fragrance ingredients, and cosmetic emollients. More information about the company is available at www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as the expected effects of success in the project, including breakthrough results in a variety of products, including biofuels, expanding the global availability of farnesene, and increasing the number of potential product applications for which farnesene can be used, the anticipated reduction of farnesene production costs as a result of advancements in the use of cellulosic material, and the expected amount of money to be received by Amyris over the term of the contract) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including the company's liquidity and ability to fund operating and capital expenses, Amyris's reliance on third parties to comply with contractual terms and dependence on third-party success in commercializing products made from Biofene, timing and execution risks associated with development and manufacturing, potential delays or failures in development, production and commercialization of products, and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of Amyris’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on May 10, 2016 . Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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