Tech Sheets SEVEN BERKELEY LAB ENERGY TECHS TO WATCH | Page 8
ALTERNATIVE
DIESEL FUEL
Biosynthetic
Bisabolane
BERKELEY LAB EXPERTISE
NANOTECHNOLOGY
©Nanosys, Inc.
BIOENGINEERING
BIOENGINEERING
PAIN POINT
Drop-in, renewable fuels are needed, particularly for vehicles that cannot be electrified, to reduce
the environmental impacts and pollutant emissions that come with a reliance on fossil fuels.
SEMICONDUCTORS
SOLUTION
Bacteria (E. coli) and yeast (S. cerevisiae) were metabolically engineered to produce a chemical
precursor that readily converts to bisabolane when saturated with hydrogen gas under pressure.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
With continuous yield improvements, biosynthetic bisabolane could become a renewable diesel
Photo Courtesy of Nanosys, Inc.
fuel alternative offering comparable energy density and superior cold weather performance to
standard D2 diesel fuel.
APPLICATIONS
HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING
• Diesel or jet fuel alternative
• Cold weather anti-clouding additive for diesel fuels
ADVANTAGES
• DCN comparable to D2 diesel fuel
BATTERIES
• Beneficial cold fuel properties
• Non-corrosive
• Enhanced yield through engineered microbial synthesis
LIFE SCIENCES
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
STATUS
Patent pending. Available for licensing or collaborative research. For more details on this
technology, go to http://ipo.lbl.gov/lbnl2837/
REFERENCE NUMBER
2837
CONTACT
Peter Matlock, JBEI Director of Commercialization
[email protected]
510-486-5803
L AWR E NC E BE R KELEY N ATI O N A L LA B O RATORY • [email protected]
All photos ©The Regents of the University of California through Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, except as noted.
Bench scale.
SENSORS/DETECTORS
BIO-BASED FUELS & CHEMICALS
IMAGING
SOFTWARE
SUBSURFACE