A significant lesson in the world of commercialization is that it is very difficult for start-up companies to succeed without an experienced leader at the helm from the beginning. Indeed, venture capital firms have led the way in recruiting seasoned leadership to guide companies in which they invest. Successful university commercialization departments have also begun recruiting “CEOs in Residence” to head up commercialization of university intellectual property. MATRIC‘s experience with its spin-offs validates the premise that a strong leadership team is critical to early and expanding commercialization efforts.

Through an existing grant with the Benedum Foundation, MATRIC has established a CEO-in-Residence Program whereby MATRIC recruits a seasoned professional to work with entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors to create new start-up companies based on research. CEOs-in-Residence must have a proven track record in running successful start-ups, with expertise in raising money at that early stage, and with a breadth of experience in evaluating technology-based start-up opportunities. They assist in the activities essential to the establishment and success of a new company which may include:

• Evaluation of opportunity and assistance with business plans and executive summaries
• Recruitment of a management team and board of directors
• Preparation of presentations for investors
• Structuring and negotiation of investment terms
• Locating professional expertise as needed based on prior experience and reputation

This program was established with the goal of increasing the number and success rate of start-ups founded on new MATRIC technologies. The Program employs a proven venture capital model of carefully analyzing start-up companies and then focusing resources on value creation in those companies. MATRIC carefully assesses all start-up ideas and selects those where there is a compelling market strategy, with high potential for return on investment, that meet an unmet societal need or improve upon an existing product or process meeting such need.

MATRIC’s first CEO-in-Residence, Mike Wood, comes to us after a very successful 25 years of business experience, holding senior management and strategic planning positions with “Best in Class” Fortune 150 companies. He is a native West Virginian having grown up in the Kanawha valley and is a business economist by degree earning his BS at West Virginia University and MS at North Carolina State University. He is also a graduate of MIT’s Sloan School of Management for Managing Technology Commercialization. Mike began his career with the Ralston Purina Company as a corporate economist. He spent the greatest part of his career developing and managing the bio research and technology commercialization activities of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (A-B). In this role, he managed their global research and commercialization activities. During Mike’s tenure, A-B’s research and raw material commercialization and manufacturing activities grew from a $45 Million/yr domestic-only operation with 2 locations to a $650 Million/yr global company with 35 locations and activity on 5 continents. He was elected an officer of Anheuser-Busch Companies and member of the domestic and international Board of Directors. Mike currently spends his time as a serial entrepreneur helping early stage companies move from the idea stage to proven success.

“I am excited to be back in West Virginia working with the MATRIC team. Our state has a rich history of breakthroughs in science and technology and MATRIC has assembled a very talented staff to keep these discoveries coming. I am eager to start building companies with their help,” said Mike. Mike’s first assignment is to assist SGA Chemicals, LLC to obtain venture capital funding.

Even with the addition of experienced start-up management, the recruitment of external capital remains a critical factor in the long-term success of MATRIC start-up companies. Accordingly, MATRIC maintains active relationships with angel investors, venture capital firms, and private equity investors. If you are either an accredited investor or represent an investment group and have expertise in a particular field, there may be investment opportunities with MATRIC start-ups across a wide spectrum of industries and technologies. For more information about investment opportunities, contact Executive Vice President and Director of Commercialization Greg Clutter by e-mail or at 800/611-2296 x842.

SGA Polymers, LLC was formed as a spin-off from MATRIC in August, 2010 with the specific mission of developing and commercializing technology invented for conversion of lactic acid to acrylic acid using renewable raw materials. Currently all acrylic acid is produced from petroleum through propylene. In the world market, only large petroleum-based acrylic acid plants (200MM pounds/yr) have proven to be economical.

The SGA BioAcrylic Process converts lactic acid (produced from carbohydrates) into acrylic acid. In laboratory scale operations, the process produces acrylic acid in high yields. Patents have been filed and initial process design and economic assessments have been completed. The SGA model has been validated as economically very competitive with the petroleum-based (propylene) route to acrylic acid. The process produces lower levels of byproducts than the petrochemical models and an SGA production unit will require 50% less capital investment than a propylene unit.

The SGA cost advantage is maintained over a wide range of plant sizes from small to large. Developing markets cannot initially sustain large scale plants, thus making it difficult or impossible to build acrylic capacity in locations such as Brazil and India. The SGA technology will have the greatest advantage in specific situations.

• Regions where acrylic acid is currently being imported.
• Locations where a smaller scale production facility is applicable.
• Situations where local low cost renewable resources positively impact economics.

The combination of these issues and trends creates a unique opportunity – especially in Brazil, India, Australia and China, where acrylic capacity is needed.

Because the SGA Bioacrylic Process uses only renewable raw materials, any resultant products produced can be marketed as “green”. With expanding consumer demand for “green” products and with the demand for acrylic acid increasing worldwide, SGA Polymers is poised to have a global economic impact.

For more information about SGA and possible investment opportunities, contact T. Mike Wood by e-mail or at 800/611-2296 x 823.

The transfer of the former Dow/Union Carbide Technology Center to the Higher Education Policy Commission of the State of West Virginia has resulted in many welcome and significant changes in the management of the renamed West Virginia Education, Research and Technology Park property including greatly increasing MATRIC’s access to pilot and demonstration facilities.

Pilot plant is a relative term in that plants are typically smaller than production scale plants, but are built in a range of sizes from laboratory scale using generic lab equipment to those constructed of fabricated metal on dedicated concrete slabs that may cost millions of dollars.

Since the operation of pilot or demonstration plants represents a vitally important step on the road to commercialization, expanded access to these facilities greatly enables MATRIC to assist its customers in moving the most promising results from laboratory or bench-scale work to be tested and optimized in a much larger integrated process, which closely simulates the conditions that would be experienced in a full commercial plant.

MATRIC understands the technologies behind the processes. So, in addition to speeding scale-up, we also can validate the economics and commercialization potential of emerging technologies. Conducting pilot scale demonstrations can provide a high degree of confidence in the ultimate performance of newly developed processes, and greatly reduces the technical and commercial risk of proceeding to full commercial scale. Pilot plants reduce the risk associated with construction of large process plants in three ways:

• They are substantially less expensive to build than full-scale plants. The business does not put as much capital at risk on a project that may be inefficient or unfeasible. Further, design changes can be made more cheaply at the pilot scale and kinks in the process can be worked out before the large plant is constructed.
• They provide valuable data for design of the full-scale plant. Scientific data about reactions, material properties, corrosiveness, for instance, may be available, but it is difficult to predict the behavior of a process of any complexity. Designers use data from the pilot plant to refine their design of the production scale facility.
• They provide ongoing support in order to test ideas for new products, new feedstocks, or different operating conditions. Alternatively, they may be operated as production facilities, augmenting production from the main plant.

One of the essential elements of a good pilot plant trial is flexibility. The ability to modify column internals and/or auxiliary equipment is often necessary to quickly arrive at an optimum solution. MATRIC’s engineers have the experience and expertise to solve the most difficult production problems. Experienced operators will perform tests over a range of “real world” operating conditions to ensure that the unit is operating as expected, while optimizing the process.

MATRIC’s service offerings are unique in that they encompass the breadth of commercialization including laboratory research and development, world-class technology assessment, pilot plant design, operation and analysis, process design, safety assessments, preliminary and full-scale engineering design and cost estimation, materials procurement and construction management. Combining these activities seamlessly into one continuous process reduces costs, eliminates “transfer of knowledge” errors and accelerates project completion.

For more information about research, assessment or pilot plant projects, contact contact Parvez Wadia by e-mail or at 800/611-2296 x 883.

Minneapolis, MN 20 June – BioAmber, Inc. has been awarded a 2011 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, presented by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). The Award promotes technology that provides substantial environmental benefits using green chemistry. BioAmber’s platform was recognized as the leading technology in the field of succinic acid. BioAmber is the first company to successfully commercialize a biobased chemical that directly substitutes its petro-chemical equivalent.

BioAmber’s succinic acid platform delivers environmentally sound, cost-effective performance materials that can replace petrochemicals in a wide range of applications, including adipic-based polyurethanes, phthalate-based plasticizers and acetate-based deicing solutions. BioAmber’s technology produces succinic acid that competes on cost with fossil fuel derived succinic acid when oil prices are well below $40 per barrel. The technology also sequesters carbon dioxide rather than emitting it.

Today’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award recognizes BioAmber’s achievements in establishing the first large-scale production facility for biobased succinic acid and creating a portfolio of renewable chemicals and polymers that are made from succinic acid. The portfolio includes modified polybutylene succinate (mPBS), a novel, high temperature biopolymer that is also biodegradable. BioAmber has established partnerships across its value chain that helped accelerate the scale up and commercialization of its succinic acid technology. These partnerships include Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Chemicals in Asia, Cargill, DuPont and MATRIC in North America, and ARD and Siclae in Europe. BioAmber has a plant producing succinic acid in Europe and will start construction of second plant in North America this year.

“BioAmber has successfully combined biotechnology and chemistry to develop a sustainable, cost-competitive process for making succinic acid and derivatives that include butanediol. We are pioneers in biobased chemicals and materials and we are honored that the EPA and ACS have recognized our accomplishments and leadership in the field of succinic. Our success story is a great example of open innovation and we accept this award on behalf of all our development partners”, said Jim Millis, BioAmber’s Chief Technology Officer.

BioAmber, a renewable chemistry company, is the market leader in the development and commercialization of biobased succinic acid and operates the world’s only dedicated biobased succinic acid plant. The company has offices and research labs in Minneapolis, MN, an office in Montreal, a sales office in Shanghai, China and a production plant in Pomacle, France.

For more information about MATRIC’s “green” chemical initiatives, contact Duane Dombek by by e-mail or at 800/611-2296 x887.