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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, September 1, 2010
Tech across New England
Mascoma on its way to biofuels' commercial reality
By Mass High Tech Staff
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Mascoma Corp.
Location: Lebanon, N.H.
Web: www.mascoma.com
Phone: 603-676-3320
Founded: 2005
Top executive: William J. Brady, CEO
Industry: Developing enzymes for the conversion of organic material to biofuels
The companies in the biofuels sector tend to get lumped together, particularly when observers question when or if biofuels will become a commercial reality. The companies’ challenge is to set themselves apart from the bunch. Mascoma Corp. does so by pointing to its different approach to biomass sourcing and the fact that it has a demonstration project in place.
Founded by Dartmouth College professors Lee Lynd and Charles Wyman, Mascoma is focused on cellulosic ethanol derived from wood, grasses and agricultural waste. The company has raised more than $80 million in venture and debt financing, and brought in a $20 million from the state of New York to build its demonstration plant in Rome, N.Y., and won $26 million in U.S. Department of Energy funds for a planned commercial plant based on wood chips in Michigan.
For the past two years, Mascoma has been recognized by cleantech research firm Lux Research Inc. as one of the companies most likely to succeed in biofuels.
From the top, William J. Brady: “As you look across biofuels space there are many many good companies. We are attacking the most fundamental and difficult problem. How to convert cellulose in a low cost and sustainable way...We have been able to prove the technology, to prove the cost, and to be able to do extended validation runs that give us a lot of confidence going up to commercial scale.
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