Joule Named 2012 Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum
Joule Named 2012 Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum
Cambridge, Mass. – September 1, 2011 – Joule Unlimited Technologies, Inc. today announced its recognition as a member of the 2012 class of Technology Pioneers, a prestigious group of 25 industry-changing companies selected annually by the World Economic Forum. Joule was chosen from hundreds of nominees, recognized for the potential of its Helioculture™ technology to significantly impact both business and society through sustainable, cost-efficient and high-volume production of renewable fuels and chemicals.
Unlike the costly, multi-step production of biofuels from biomass, Joule's Helioculture platform directly and continuously converts solar energy to infrastructure-compatible fuels and chemicals, including fungible diesel and ethanol. The platform combines breakthroughs in genome engineering, process engineering and solar capture and conversion to achieve productivities that will be up to 100X greater than biomass-dependent processes, while avoiding depletion of agricultural land or fresh water. Using sunlight and waste CO2 from industrial emitters or pipelines, Joule targets commercial production of up to 15,000 gallons of diesel and 25,000 gallons of ethanol per acre annually, at stable costs as low as $20/bble and $0.60/gallon respectively.
"It's an exciting honor to be named a Technology Pioneer, and to achieve global recognition for innovating above and beyond the commonly-pursued category of biomass-to-fuel," said Bill Sims, President and CEO of Joule. "We have achieved tremendous progress in four years, developing and validating a revolutionary platform that we expect will be operating at demonstration scale by this time next year. By eliminating the obstacles to high-volume, low-cost renewable fuels, we expect to help transform a vital global industry and enable sustainable, localized production around the world."
"In a large and growing field of competing technologies, Joule has taken a truly unique path with an integrated system and process that will directly tap the power of solar energy in the form of cost-competitive liquid fuels," said Noubar Afeyan, Founder and Chairman of Joule. "Since inception we've merged advances across multiple disciplines, from systems biology and metabolic engineering to photonics, materials science and bioprocessing. The result is a production platform with sound design from end-to-end and viability well beyond the lab, and we thank the World Economic Forum for acknowledging its merit."
"The Technology Pioneers are an important World Economic Forum community," said Olivier Schwab, Director, Head of Technology Pioneers, World Economic Forum. "Being true pioneers in designing and developing innovative new technologies, these companies demonstrate the kind of positive transformation and leadership that will shape industries and society as a whole for years to come."
Technology Pioneer candidates undergo a rigorous selection process and are evaluated by more than 50 global experts in the fields of technology, academics, journalism and venture capital. Selected companies must demonstrate visionary leadership, show the signs of being long-standing market leaders, and their technology must be proven. Following evaluation, finalists are recommended to the World Economic Forum, which then makes the final decision.
Additional information about the Technology Pioneers 2012 program is available at
About Joule Unlimited, Inc.
Joule is advancing a technology platform for Liquid Fuel from the Sun™, expected to eclipse the scale, productivity and cost efficiency of any known alternative to fossil fuel today. Its transformative Helioculture™ platform directly and continuously converts sunlight and waste CO2 to infrastructure-ready diesel, ethanol or commodity chemicals with no dependence on biomass feedstocks, downstream processing or precious natural resources. This process can yield renewable fuels and chemicals in unprecedented volumes with a fraction of the land required by current methods, leapfrogging biomass-dependent approaches and eliminating the economic and environmental disadvantages of fossil fuels. Founded in 2007 by Flagship VentureLabs, Joule is privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additional information is available at www.jouleunlimited.com.