Bioscience company Amyris has announced it has won a three-year multi-million dollar contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) to further manufacturing capabilities of its cellulose-derived farnesene for biofuels.

Amyris will work with Total New Energies USA (Total) and Renmatrix to develop a manufacturing-ready process utilizing wood as the cellulosic feedstock to produce farnesene, a hydrocarbon building block used to manufacture a variety of products including cosmetics.

John Melo, President & CEO of Amyris, said, “We’re pleased to partner with Renmatix and Total in furthering the advancement of cellulose-derived farnesene.
“Success in this project could enable farnesene cost below $1 a litre, which will deliver breakthrough results in a variety of products, including biofuels, while at the same time leveraging the existing large forestry infrastructure to utilize renewable wood sources and wood waste as a sugar source to produce it.”

Advancements in the use of cellulosic materials are said to bring the cost of production down, with the potential to increase geographical distribution of manufacturing plants, with an emphasis on rural areas in need of new economic opportunities.

Thanks to the new agreement, Amyris is thought to receive millions of dollars annually to fund milestones in reducing the cost of production of cellulosic farnesene.