Shell buys bigger stake in biofuel enzyme co. Codexis
In an effort to commercialize next-generation biofuels by 2013, Royal Dutch Shell has taken a bigger stake in Redwood City, Calif. biofuel technology company Codexis. The two companies struck a five-year deal in 2007 that infused Codexis with $30 million and gave Shell a seat on its board. This new deal is said to be roughly the same and nabs Shell another seat.
Codexis doesn't actually make the biofuels themselves. Rather, it engineers the super enzymes that convert wood chips, switchgrass, corn husks, sugar cane and other organic materials into ethanol. Tiny changes in the DNA of these catalysts can speed conversion times, heighten efficiencies and significantly lower fuel production costs. The company says its enzymes have also been used by pharmaceutical companies to hasten and cheapen their chemical processes.
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