VIB and Performa Investimentos establish GlobalYeast to deliver superior industrial yeast strains

26-May-2015 - Belgium

VIB and Performa Investimentos, an independent Brazilian private equity and venture capital company, announced the establishment of GlobalYeast, a new company that will develop and deliver superior industrial yeast strains for bioethanol and the green chemicals industry. The company raised a total of 6.25 M EUR from an investor consortium composed of a Brazilian VC Fund (Performa Investimentos), two Belgian funds (Gemma Frisius and SOFI) and VIB and will focus on the Brazilian market and large groups worldwide.

Yeasts are used in the production of bio-ethanol from waste streams. Until recently, there were a number of important obstacles that prevented the efficient production of bio-ethanol. One of these was the fact that not one single strain of yeast was capable of converting the total amount of sugars in cellulosic biomass into ethanol. The Johan Thevelein lab (VIB/KU Leuven) succeeded in producing genetically engineered yeast strains capable of fermenting C5 sugars from concentrated and non-detoxified streams. GlobalYeast is based on the science and technology platform of Professor Johan Thevelein (VIB/KU Leuven) and will offer proprietary superior yeast strains, together with tools to monitor and control the fermentation process for the second and first generation - bioethanol and green chemistry industry. This full set of products and services will help their costumers to improve production and reduce production costs.

Its executive team is based both in Belgium, in the Bio-incubator facilities in Leuven, and Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, to conduct business development and R&D activities. The executive team will be headed by Dr. Marcelo do Amaral, an industrial scientist with extensive experience in industry, academia and consulting, who will lead the company’s business development from Brazil. Professor Johan Thevelein, scientific founder, will be the Chief Scientific Officer of GlobalYeast and will be in charge of all research and the continuous development and improvement of the technology platform.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/152975/vib-and-performa-investimentos-establish-globalyeast-to-deliver-superior-industrial-yeast-strains.html