Biotechnology firm Joule Unlimited may have come up with a game changer
in the quest for economically viable biofuels.
"Joule is applying advanced genome engineering to develop a library of
proprietary organisms, each one optimized for productivity according to
the desired end product. Because the organisms are engineered to
directly synthesize and secrete fuels, we will avoid costly steps such
as large-scale biomass production and collection or other downstream
refinement. Our technology has already been proven with the direct
conversion of CO2 to liquid hydrocarbons and ethanol, avoiding the
economic and environmental burden of multi-step, petroleum- or
biomass-dependent methods."