The Power, Promise and Problems of Biomass and Chemicals
Judy Giordan presented a webinar for AudioSolutionz entitled The Power, Promise and Problems of Biomass and Chemicals.
Biomass has spelled hope and frustration for enabling cleaner energy, delivering a promise for greener products and creating a growing economy. Start-ups abound, Fortune 100 companies are lining up to commit to cleaner products, but with venture firms pulling out of the financing mix, there are few dollars available for actual scale and change over. Biomass is seen by some as the most viable source of alternative energy, but with venture capital virtually drying up, this promising solution for cleaner, greener energy is getting farther beyond our grasp.
There are few dollars available for the scale and cross-over needed for Cleantech to really make its mark. Start-ups are struggling to survive in this challenging environment, while the Fortune 100 wonder what their role should be. The energy market, however, isn’t the first to face such a plight. Pharmaceuticals once struggled under a similar scenario, but have emerged victorious by rethinking their strategy.
Today, mainstream Pharma has embraced the need for a pipeline of new ideas and products and is working to move away from the “not invented here” syndrome that plagued them and lost market cap and confidence in their companies. Will this trend take root in chemical, materials and energy companies as we seek to move to a mixed feedstock source of biomass and petro-based energy? Or will “not invented here”, cheap natural gas, and fracking keep the promise of biomass at bay?
Is this a US trend or a global one? And is the US going to miss out on this new wave of materials based on new sources of petro-intensive feed-stocks?