Startups

ExactH2O is developing and commercializing a programmable irrigation system for controlled-environment research. They are building sensor-based irrigation for plant research and greenhouses. Their system allows users to monitor moisture, set targets, and review each pot’s history.

Early-stage start-up Glucan Biorenewables, LLC is using gamma-Valerolactone (GVL), a plant-based solvent developed at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, to help convert biomass into three streams of high-value industrial chemicals.

Existing from 2011 to 2018, Hyrax Energy Inc. was using an improved method for extracting fermentable sugars from biomass to improve the economics of the cellulosic biofuel pipeline. Developed in the lab of UW–Madison and GLBRC, this ionic liquid-based technology provides a new way to transform biomass into biofuels and high-value chemicals without using enzymes or costly pretreatment steps.

Dr. Kyung-Hwan Han, a professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture, has partnered with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center to unlock the genetic regulators of cellulose biosynthesis in plants.

Han’s startup company, Kopess Biomass Solutions, was formed with assistance from the MSU Innovation Center; the company has optioned his discovery.

Early-stage start-up Lactic Solutions uses genetic engineering to convert lactic acid bacteria, the organisms that infect ethanol fermentations, to produce ethanol rather than lactic acid. Additionally, these organisms are engineered to produce compounds that inhibit the contaminating lactic acid bacteria.

Phenolvation are working to commercialize technology developed through GLBRC research that can produce sustainably sourced replacements for common petroleum products. These chemicals include acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and para-aminophenol, a precursor molecule used to make ink, dyes, adhesives, and other polymers with a global market value of more than $1.5 b

Xylome uses newly developed yeast strains to transform hard-to-digest sugars into commercially viable, second-generation ethanol and biodiesel precursors and to synthesize a host of advanced biorenewable products. Xylome specializes in metabolic engineering of nonconventional yeast. Their scientists create platforms for the bioconversion of unconventional feedstocks.