Cosan, Amyris to Produce Renewable Chemicals from Sugarcane

Amyris, Inc. and Cosan S.A. announced today that they have executed term sheets to establish a joint venture for the worldwide development, production and commercialization of renewable intermediate chemicals for specific industrial and automotive applications.

Amyris’s synthetic biology platform enables the production of a wide variety of renewable products from sugarcane. Cosan has established product development, manufacturing and marketing capabilities. Under the joint venture, the parties will jointly commercialize the target products throughout the world. The parties expect to complete a definitive agreement later this year.

“Cosan is the largest mill group in Brazil, and we are pleased to add this strategic alliance to expand our commercialization efforts,” said John Melo, chief executive officer of Amyris. “We will be working with Cosan on a focused class of products and expect to benefit greatly from their resources and capabilities.”

"We believe this JV will strengthen Cosan's downstream position in high value add chemicals," said Marcos Lutz, chief executive officer of Cosan. “Amyris’s technology can greatly expand the range and value of products that we can derive from our cane.”