FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE聽|聽February 19, 2016
American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 Green Chemistry Institute forms industry roundtable to tackle 21st century challenge of bio-based and renewable technology sector
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2016 鈥� The American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute庐 (GCI), in cooperation with LanzaTech, Intrexon and other leading bio-based chemical companies, has formed the Biochemical Technology Leadership Roundtable (BTLR). This collaboration will identify and address key scientific challenges such as those relating to scaling up biochemical technologies in a sustainable way. Membership is open to all companies in the bio-based and renewable chemical/product value chain including consumer-facing companies.
鈥淪upportive frameworks will help get new technologies to commercial scale in a shorter time frame,鈥� says Jennifer Holmgren, Ph.D., CEO of LanzaTech. 鈥淭he BTLR can do this by engaging with the wider market, establishing a supportive value chain and establishing and promoting best practices to help all players succeed on a level playing field.鈥�
Biochemical technology is defined as a range of technologies that are used to produce chemicals and other products through biological transformations of bio-based and renewable materials (e.g., biomass, waste carbon dioxide, methane, etc.). Using these materials and processes is an important strategy to address global challenges arising from climate change, water scarcity, toxic emissions and health-related impacts of environmental changes. Bio-based chemicals can also reduce the environmental footprint of product manufacturing and offer novel characteristics that have the potential to drive innovation.
鈥淲e at Intrexon believe in the power of biology to solve some of the world鈥檚 greatest challenges,鈥� says Jack Bobo, Intrexon鈥檚 senior VP and chief communications officer. 鈥淲e are proud to join BTLR as a founding member to collaborate with other companies that seek to promote a truly sustainable economy.鈥�
ACS GCI developed the roundtable after conducting a series of workshops and interviews with more than 30 corporations and startups in biotechnology, as well as government, academia and trade organizations.
鈥淥ur mission is to facilitate greater industry implementation of relevant technologies to improve the competitiveness and attractiveness of the field,鈥� says David Constable, Ph.D., director of ACS GCI.
Roundtable members will collaborate on pre-competitive initiatives to:
- Identify key research enablers to reduce the costs and improve performance of feedstock conversion/transformation
- Develop a credible scientific database of key bio-based technology trends and scientific developments positioned to support commercialization, standards setting and policy setting
- Promote and advance scientific forums to enable robust best-practice sharing and benchmarking
- Identify opportunities to support promising scale-up efforts
- Develop tools and methodologies to inform the design and use of biochemical and renewable chemical technologies
- Enhance global collaboration among companies to increase the accessibility of green chemistry and engineering expertis
The bio-based sector is already a $369 billion dollar industry in the United States, employing 4 million people directly and indirectly according to .
The ACS GCI currently convenes four other roundtables with 39 member companies focusing on advancing green chemistry and engineering within their respective industrial fields: pharmaceutical, chemical manufacturers, formulators and hydraulic fracturing.
Companies interested in joining the Biochemical Technology Leadership Roundtable can become founding members by committing before June 16. Please contact Ann Lee-Jeffs at a_lee-jeffs@acs.org.
The ACS Green Chemistry Institute庐, a part of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网, is dedicated to catalyzing the implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemistry enterprise. 聽The ACS GCI convenes industrial roundtables, holds an annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference () and offers educational resources including grants, awards, webinars and workshops 鈥� encouraging scientific innovations to solve environmental and human health issues facing our world today.
The American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网 is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world鈥檚 largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
Media Contact
Christiana Briddell
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