EMERYVILLE, Calif., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyris, an innovator in the development of sustainable hydrocarbon biofuels, today announced that Jeff Lievense Ph.D. will join as Senior Vice President of Process Development and Manufacturing. Lievense draws from 25 years of industrial experience in bioprocess engineering and a proven track record in developing, scaling up, and commercializing advanced fermentation processes.
"Jeff has extensive experience in taking promising technologies to commercial scale," said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. "Our technology has already been proven on a laboratory scale, and Jeff is the perfect addition to our growing team as we enter the next phase in our technology development. With his help, we look forward to developing the large-scale fermentation processes to manufacture our "no compromise" hydrocarbon biofuels that will be environmentally-friendly and cost competitive."
"It's rare that you find top-notch scientists and industry experts all in the same room, much less collaborating with one another on a project with such tremendous potential," said Jeff Lievense. "This unique atmosphere as well as the opportunity to help commercialize a truly groundbreaking technology is what drew me to Amyris. I'm excited to get to work."
Lievense most recently served as Vice President of Technology and Process Development for the R&D organization of Tate & Lyle, where he led its fermentation R&D program including the commercialization of three large-scale industrial fermentation products, most notably in pioneering a process for production of Bio-PDO(TM) (1,3-propanediol). In that role, Lievense also oversaw extensive laboratory and pilot plant facilities. Lievense holds B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical engineering from University of Michigan and Purdue University, respectively.
About Amyris
Amyris (www.amyris.com) is applying its proprietary, breakthrough technology to address major global health and energy challenges. Amyris' technology is used to produce high-value compounds to enable the production of lower cost artemisinin-based anti-malarial drugs and a slate of renewable hydrocarbon biofuels which are expected to be cost-effective and compatible with existing engines and distribution infrastructure. Based in Emeryville, CA, Amyris is a privately-held venture backed company whose investors include DAG Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and TPG Ventures.
CONTACT: Ray Yeung, +1-212-986-6667, or yeung@braincomm.com, or Steve
Ortley, +1-212-986-6667, or ortley@braincomm.com, both of Brainerd
Communicators, for Amyris
Web site: http://www.amyris.com/