Biotech

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million with fuel giant . The two companiee plan to build the biggest cellulosic ethanok plant inthe country, in Verenium (Nasdaq: VRNM) is just one of the many biomass-relatefd ventures gaining traction in Massachusetts, which has a long history of investmenrt and research in the biotechnology sector. Roughly $200 million in venture capitaol has poured into the local sectof over the past two years a flood of money for a sector that saw virtually no local investment priorto 2006, accordingf to data provided by Dow Jones VentureSource. As of last the state had roughly 30 companies focusede onthe development, production and distributio of biomass products and services, accordint to the .
Cellulosic ethanol is biomass madefrom non-foodr plants and waste — for instance, grass or sewags instead of corn. In Florida, you can grow 18 to 20 tons of grasseszper acre, per year a tremendous advantage over the growing potentiapl in Massachusetts. But Carlos Riva, Verenium’ws president, says the company’s headquarters will remainj in Massachusetts. “The reason to be here is the businese climate, the quality of the sources of innovation and the support of the he said. Indeed, the Bay State’s biotechnology sector has prove n a fertile breeding ground for startups seekiny to convert biomass into alternatives tofossil fuels.
Jim Lane, the editor of the nationakl daily newsletterBiofuels Digest, agreess with Riva’s assessment. “From both an investodr and producer pointof view, the top five bioenergyg clusters are San Francisco, San Seattle, the Corn Belt and Lane said the region’s strengt in this field can be attributed in largr part to the strength of the technology cominhg out of the area’s universities. But he said another important factor is that becauswe the venture capital community is used to fundingbiotechnology firms, they are used to the risk and long time horizonsx that also come with the sector’w energy-focused startups.
And “they get the science,” Lane said. All of whicgh is a big advantage in getting technologies to He said the other advantages the region has is the commitmentof top-level stats lawmakers. But some say the recessionh has reduced some ofthe state’s, and the public’s, sensd of urgency over bringing alternative fuele to market. Michael Raab of , another cellulosicv biomass makerin Cambridge, said the urgency in the publicc domain has waned a bit sincw the recession set in. “Our commercial prospects looked a lot bettet when oilwas $100 a he said.
Raab also said that even with the best researchyand development, and strong support from government, there are stil some technical difficulties in simply goin from making a small amount of fuel to scalint it up to the mass production neededc to really change the way Americans use But the long-term picture for the state’s alternativde energy industry looks strong. Biofuelx executives and advocates are encouraged by thestimulue package, which includes an $800 million grant for Another $400 million has been set aside for the creationb of a new agency to be called the -Energy, an appropriation that could also benefit the biomass