Posted by: JaredFurtado on Dec 1, 2011

By: Jim Lane, Biofuels Digest

Focused on RFS, RIN, or VEETC? Have no idea what RMN, ATM, GDD, STT or LCW stand for? Amyris and Total do, and they are making their way towards serious scale. Are you?

Yesterday we looked at the theme of getting stronger through beefing up management teams and raising cash, cash and more cash.

As our friend Brian Westlake commented: “It’s what Sukharno said in Indonesia back in ’65. It’s the year of living dangerously. For the weak, disaster. For the strong? Well, for those who bulk up on the management team, and raise, raise, raise, raise money, it could be better than a good year. It could be a vintage year. To the victors belong the spoils. So now is not the time to be sentimental, now is the time to get strong any way you can.”

But there’s, of course, another route to going big — staying strong. Amyris and Total exemplify the trend, with their announcement of agreements to expand their current R&D partnership and form a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialize a range of renewable fuels and products.

So, Total will continue to provide R&D capital to Amyris — $105 million in capital for a $180 million program — aimed at to accelerating the deployment of Biofene, and bringing the next generation renewable fuels to market at commercial scale.

In addition, Total and Amyris have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture company that will have exclusive rights to produce and market renewable diesel and jet fuel worldwide, as well as non-exclusive rights to other renewable products such as drilling fluids, solvents, polymers and specific biolubricants. The venture aims to begin operations in the first quarter of 2012.

Read the Full Story HERE.



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