TMO Renewables and Integrated Genomics Extend Cellulosic Ethanol Research Collaboration

30 May 2008

Integrated Genomics, Inc. (IG), a US microbial genomics company, and TMO Renewables Limited, a UK developer of a cellulosic ethanol production process, are extending their research collaboration on organisms for TMO’s system.

Scientists at IG will work with TMO to identify pathways that can be exploited in future upgrades to TMO’s proprietary cellulosic ethanol process. The initial targets of the collaboration are two of IG’s proprietary membrane transport proteins that will be evaluated in TMO’s strains of thermophilic bacteria.

TMO’s fermentation process is capable of utilizing all of the hexose and pentose sugars, including complex longer chain forms, derived from biomass. The high temperature process is capable of producing fuel ethanol at high efficiency and high conversion rates.

TMO has built the UK’s first cellulosic ethanol demonstration facility which integrates all the necessary steps in a continuous ethanol production process.