AE Biofuels acquires Zymetis

In the US, biofuels company AE Biofuels has completed the acquisition of Zymetis, a Maryland-based biotechnology company that develops products for the renewable chemicals and advanced fuels industries.

Now a wholly owned subsidiary of AE Biofuels, Zymetis holds four granted patents and more than 10 pending patents on the Z-microbe, a marine organism that was originally discovered consuming plant cellulose at a high rate in the Chesapeake Bay.

The Z-microbe naturally generates about 90 enzymes that rapidly convert sugar, starch and cellulose into fuels and chemicals. It has been converted to produce renewable chemicals and advanced fuels from renewable feedstocks.

'Zymetis' technology has already demonstrated the production of high-value chemicals to supply multi-billion dollar global markets, but we lacked a commercialisation platform,' says Steve Hutcheson, founder of Zymetis.

'The combination of AE Biofuels and Zymetis enables the launch of new specialty chemical and renewable fuels products at an accelerated rate compared to the normal product development and construction cycle of three years or more,' Eric McAfee, chairman and CEO of AE Biofuels, comments.

AE Biofuels currently operates 105 million gallons per year of biofuels plant capacity in the US and India, according to McAfee.

The technical team of Zymetis will join AE Biofuels in similar roles, and Hutcheson will join the board of directors of AE Biofuels.

AE Biofuels issued 6,673,555 common shares to Zymetis shareholders in the transaction, with 766,000 of the shares vesting over a three-year period.