DSM receives grant of US Department of Energy for biotechnology research
Royal DSM N.V. has received a grant from the US Department of Energy for a technical consortium on an innovative biotechnological approach of bioproducts and biofuels. The grant will fund an extensive enzyme development program which will focus on finding applications in cellulose-based biorefineries for the production of bio-based products, including biofuels. The research will be carried out by a technical consortium in which DSM will be the lead partner. The other participants in this proposed project include Abengoa Bioenergy New Technologies, Los Alamos Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. An important part of the development work will be executed in the US and the program will run for four years.
The grant fits in with the White Biotech program that DSM is running as one of its Emerging Business Areas with the aim of becoming a company fully focused on Life Sciences and Materials Sciences in line with its strategy Vision 2010. It will enlarge DSM's capabilities as a leader in biotechnology.
"The focus of this funded program is right at the heart of our White Biotechnology strategy to create practical solutions for the biorefineries of the future, using feedstocks that are not in conflict with food and feed supplies," says Volkert Claassen, DSM's Vice President White Biotechnology. "We also recognize that it will require solid industry and institutional partnerships in order to fully realize the potential of bio-based manufacturing, such as the partners in this particular program."
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