Total and Amyris to build strategic partnership

France’s Total SA and Emeryville, Calif.-based Amyris Inc., which operates an industrial synthetic biology platform, announced a strategic partnership to develop new products and commercialize renewable fuels and chemicals. The partnership combines Amyris’s industrial synthetic biology platform and emerging Brazilian production capacity with Total’s technological know-how, industrial scale-up capabilities and access to markets. “Biotechnology offers new perspectives on the conversion of biomass into molecules for biofuels and green chemistry,” emphasized Philippe Boisseau, president, Total Gas & Power. “Amyris is one of the most promising start-ups in the emerging white biotechnology field. This partnership is a milestone for Total, as we aim to become an important player in this domain,” he said. (June 24, 2010)