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Tuesday, 07 October, 2008, 07:10 GMT | more prices >>

Shell takes biofuels bite



By Upstream staff 

Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell is set to take a stake in privately-owned US biotechnology company Codexis and plans to work more closely with the company to develop enzymes that can be used to manufacture biofuels.

Shell said it hoped to use Codexis' enzymes to develop a commercial plant that could produce ethanol from waste biomass such as tree stumps, and non-food crops.

Codexis boss Alan Shaw said he hoped a commercial facility could be built within five years.

Currently, ethanol plants use food crops such as sugar cane, corn and wheat. Increased demand for biofuels, as fears over global warming and energy security grow, has pushed up food prices and been blamed for deforestation.

Production of biofuels from non-food crops and waste biomass is seen as the only way to economically manufacture a meaningful proportion of total transport fuel demand without driving up food prices, causing serious ecological damage and potentially raising carbon dioxide emissions.

The companies declined to disclose the size of the stake to be sold or price to be paid.


Tuesday, 06 November, 2007, 14:45 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 06 November, 2007, 14:49 GMT

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