William Provine: The bioeconomy of the future, and really it's
the current reality, and it's a growing prospect for the future, is about creating building
blocks.
I mean, everything out there in the bioeconomy is a series of business ventures, and beneath
the business ventures are a series of technologies and inventions that are critical to enable
them.
So, in some ways it's a very exciting future both for the scientists, in terms of, there
is many new technologies, very diverse technologies across chemistry and biology and engineering,
as well as exciting new market opportunities.
John Farrell: We recognize that in order for a fuel to have
broad market impact, you need to have flexibility.
That's one of the key reasons why we're looking to define the properties of a fuel and then
allow the fuel makers to blend whatever is available that makes economic and environmental
sense to meet those properties.
The fuels that you put in the market place in 2025 to achieve those properties and allow
that performance may evolve over time, and then as new feedstocks come in, as new discoveries
on conversion processes allow more efficient and lower cost processes to contribute.
So, by focusing on the properties we're giving the fuel providers the flexibility to accommodate
an evolving landscape with time.
Deepti Tanjore: Most of these small companies have very limited
budgets, and the risk associated with scale up, coupled with the expenses that are required
to be spent to build a pilot plant often curbs development of technology in this area.
What we want to do is help is these entrepreneurs to take the small-scale technologies and help
them de-risk their scale up.
Jeffrey Dietrich: Lygos focuses on metabolic engineering and
fermentation science.
We also work with chemical engineers, we work with our cellulosic feedstock providers who
in turn work with farmers, or other individuals who are harvesting that biomass.
And it really needs to be that holistic perspective of how do we put these pieces together and
make a bioeconomy that is efficient, that is cost-effective.
And that's really where I think we begin to see a tremendous ability for the bioeconomy
to grow, is when there's a foundational set of technologies and feedstocks and equipment
and facilities that really enable a faster iteration time on bringing new products to
market.
Virginia Dale: It's the market demand that drives forest
management.
And when there are different demands in the market, timber's the big one, pulp wood's
another one, at the bottom of the pile is bioenergy.
When that is an added market value, it's incentive to manage our forest lands, which provides
multiple benefits.
Peter Jackson: The material we have here like this slash,
is really a waste product, not unlike agricultural waste.
It's not something we're intentionally generating, it's a byproduct of the dimensional lumber
market that most of the trees in this area go in to.
And so we're just trying to really find a home for the waste that's left here.
If we can get electricity out of that, if we can get biofuel out of that, if we can
produce some of that material here locally, I think people would be all for that.
And it's reducing the cost of shipping and the greenhouse gas associated with that.
So, it's a win for everybody.