'Designer Biofuels' May Replace Gas

LS9's commercial production may begin in three to five years
By Julia Scott , STAFF WRITER

SAN CARLOS — The mysterious liquid potions that keep scientists at LS9 Inc. so busy at their crowded lab in San Carlos may be unrecognizable, but they someday might become the world's two most valuable fuels: gasoline and diesel.

The Silicon Valley startup claims to have developed a new technique to make industrial-scale "designer biofuels" in the lab from the same ingredients as ethanol, such as corn or sugar cane. The major difference is that the fuels will act as a direct replacement for gasoline or diesel, making them more valuable than a gasoline supplement like ethanol.

LS9's biofuels also are designed to flow into the same pipes and gas tanks as gasoline, whereas ethanol must be trucked in.

When the company begins production on a commercial scale — which LS9 leaders say could happen within three to five years — every gallon of fuel they produce will replace a gallon of fuel produced by the burning of fossil fuels. They also will be the first company to take their science to the market.

"People already know where to go for gas. There's a whole infrastructure that would be built around our products," said Gregory Pal, senior director of corporate development for LS9,ticking off the benefits. "From our perspective, the goal is to bring the technology to market as quickly as possible in terms of something that's already compatible."

If the technology pans out, it would come at a welcome time for a market increasingly hungry for domestic sources of fuel.

Pal says his products would start at around $50 a barrel in a market currently trading at record highs of more than $90 a barrel.

San Mateo County Times, Nov. 6, 2007