Biofuel Technologies at the University of Wisconsin ‐ Madison Jennifer Go*wald Licensing Manager WARF Wisconsin Bioenergy Summit October 6, 2011
WARF History
1925 – Harry Steenbock Vitamin D by Irradiation
Established in 1925 by Professor Harry Steenbock 1st organizaMon of its kind A tax exempt, not‐for‐profit corporaMon Independent world‐class Board comprised of UW alums Over $1 billion of products are sold each year under license from WARF
WARF Today WARF’s Mission is to support scienMfic research at the UW‐Madison by: Moving invenMons arising from UW‐Madison research to the marketplace, for the benefit of the UW‐Madison, the inventor and society as a whole InvesMng licensing proceeds to fund further research at UW‐Madison
WARF Bioenergy Partnerships
Bioenergy Industry Partners WARF is acMvely engaged with several bioenergy and biorenewable companies and entrepreneurs at any given Mme. WARF has entered into agreements around bioenergy and biorenwable technologies with: • >5 startups • > 4 established companies • > 3 large mulMnaMonal companies
Industry Technology Transfer • Licensing • Sponsored Research • CollaboraMon • Formal Engagement • Etc.
Improved Plant Biomass • Sandra AusMn‐Phillips – P00020 – Plants producing lignin‐degrading enzymes – Grow biomass – acMvate enzymes for breakdown
• John Ralph and John Grabber – P120225 – Lignin subunits amenable to “unzipping” – Lower costs and energy usage, higher yields through more thorough biomass usage
Improved Biomass DeconstrucCon • JunYong Zhu – P100184 – Metal complexes to mask lignin for more efficient enzyme deconstrucMon of cellulose – Reduces enzyme and water use
• Xuejun Pan – P110018 – Biomass deconstrucMon through solvents to furans and carbon chains – Simple and inexpensive
• Ron Raines – P08210 and P09305 – Ionic liquids to deconstruct biomass to furan and sugars – Simple with high yields
Improved Biomass Conversion • Jim Dumesic – P110124, P110125, and more – CatalyMc processes for deconstrucMon of biomass and conversion to furans, levulinic acid, fuels, etc. – Broad applicaMons, cost‐effecMve, solvent re‐use
• Audrey Gasch – P100228 – Yeast with higher alcohol tolerance – Decreased costs and energy usage
Improved Biomass Conversion • Tom Jeffries – P04449 and others – Yeast strains that use various sugars preferably – Higher yields from biomass conversion
• Brian Pfleger – P09329 – Modified bacteria to overproduce fa*y acids – Efficient producMon of diesel and jet fuel precursors
Biomass Discovery Tools • Syd Withers – P100362 – Bacteria engineered to secrete large proteins – Be*er enzyme producMon, could combine deconstrucMon and fermentaMon
• Brian Fox – P08301 – System for combinatorial discovery of deconstrucMon enzymes – High throughput screening, cost effecMve
UW‐Madison Biofuel Research
www.warf.org www.discoveryportal.org www.glbrc.org
Biomass to Biofuels and Bioproducts
Bioenergy SUGARS
LIGNIN
OTHERS
Biorenewable building blocks Non‐ commodity bioproducts
WARF Accelerator Program • TranslaMonal research • Both industry experMse and funding • Increase probability of licensing intellectual property • Industry consultants vet proposals and offer advice • Clean Technologies group starMng October 2012
Thank you! Thomas Alva Edison Jennifer Go*wald WARF jennifer@warf.org (608) 262‐5941
“The value of an idea is in the using of it”