Firms such as Sapphire and Amyris that hoped to score success as biofuel producers “are turning hard—or ‘pivoting,’ in Silicon Valley tech-ese—to products that sell for much more than $2.49 a gallon,” says Newsweek in a story on the perils and promise of synthetic biology. The 2008-09 recession, followed by weakening petroleum prices, “took much of the nascent synbio biofuel industry with it,” says the story by David Ferry.
Sapphire, which expected to harvest drop-in biofuels from algae farms, “is eyeing omega-3 supplements,” says Newsweek. Amyris, which also entered the biofuels market, “is manufacturing lotions and fragrances for perfumes.” The Swiss firm Evolva is making vanilla extract, stevia and saffron via synthetic biology. Solarzyme makes biofuels from algae and experiments with algae-based food oils. Newsweek says synbio companies “can tailor products to the food and chemical industries, who are thrilled at the prospect of cheap flavors and foods that come with reliable supply chains and shelf stability.” Environmental groups worry the products could arrive in food without any labeling.