Sustainability Standards and Advanced Biotech Tools for Renewable Fuels and Chemicals Explored at BIO's Pacific Rim Summit

2008-09-12 23:33:02 -

www.bio.org - More than 450 researchers, business leaders, and government officials gathered in Vancouver this week to discuss how biotechnology can help to produce sustainable biofuels and biobased products at BIO's Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy.

The conference focused on the question of how to produce a truly sustainable biofuel, according to John Sheehan, president of

PAS, Inc., and vice president of strategy and sustainable development at LiveFuels, Inc., a company developing algae-to-fuels technology. "Moving the dialogue forward to fully understand the global effects of biofuels is what we need," Sheehan stated during a plenary session today. "Ready or not, standards for sustainable biofuels are on the way. I'm proud to say that the biotechnology industry has stepped up to the plate to address the need for sustainable biofuels."

Other speakers at the conference discussed new biotech tools and how they can lead to improved methods for producing biofuels and biobased products. Drew Endy, assistant professor of bioengineering at Stanford University and former Cabot Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT, gave an overview of how synthetic biology is leading to standardized biotech tools and techniques during a plenary session on Thursday, Sept. 11. "New generations of students in biotechnology want to know how to design and build organisms that reliably behave as they expect."

Kinkead Reiling, senior vice president of corporate development and a co-founder of Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc., described his company's work in synthetic biology and biofuel production. In his presentation, he described a good renewable fuel as one that readily fits into the current infrastructure for fuels. "The urgency and status of our search for replacements to petroleum call for transdisciplinary approaches that aggregate the expertise of people in both the biotech and engineering space. Synthetic biology can expand what natural biology can make," he noted.

Michael Lynch, chief scientific officer of OPX Biotechnologies, Inc., presented his company's work to refine renewable raw materials into biofuels and chemicals with significant cost and sustainability benefits. "Our goal is to develop a sustainable biological route to acrylic acid by improving a natural microbe's tolerance to production while simultaneously improving yield," he stated.

The Pacific Rim Summit is the only global conference dedicated to building innovative collaborations in industrial biotechnology across the Pacific. The conference is co-organized by BIO, BIOTECanada, and Life Sciences British Columbia with additional support provided by BC Innovation Council and Genome British Columbia. Media registration is complimentary for credentialed members of the news media.

The Advanced Biofuels & Climate Change Information Center presents the latest commentary and data on the environmental and other impacts of biofuel production. Drop in and add your comments, at biofuelsandclimate.wordpress.com/.

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world's largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

Upcoming BIO Events -0- -- Intellectual Property Council Committee Fall Conference and Meeting October 20-22, 2008 Orlando, Fla. -- BIO HR Conference 2008 October 26-28, 2008 San Diego, Calif. -- BIO-LES Advanced Business Development Course October 27-29, 2008 San Francisco, Calif. -- BIO Investor Forum 2008 October 29-31, 2008 San Francisco, Calif. -- Advanced Business Development Course November 14-16, 2008 Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany -- BIO-Europe 2008 November 17-19, 2008 Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany -- 2009 BIO International Convention May 18-21, 2009 Atlanta, Ga.

Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
Paul Winters, 202-962-9237
pwinters@bio.org
www.bio.org