EBJ Business Achiever of the Week: Microvi Biotechnologies

This week we salute Microvi Biotechnologies (Hayward, CA) winner of a 2013 Business Achievement Award in the technology innovation category for application of its MicroNiche Engineering (MNE) technology in the area of biochemical production. MNE is a method of synthetically engineering the microenvironment for microorganisms to create process-customized biocatalysts. Until 2013, the company’s focus was to scale up and apply MNE for water and wastewater treatment, accumulating operations in the United States and the Asia-Pacific region related to metals removal, industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, and contamination degradation, including a job supported by a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for 1,4-dioxane treatment. In 2013, Microvi harnessed MNE for biochemical production, receiving in July a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for a new bio-butanol technology. In November, the company was selected by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for a $3.5 million grant for a gas-to-liquid fuels project.

For a full list of EBJ’s 2013 Business Achievement Award winners, please visit https://ebionline.org/business-achievement-awards. EBJ is now accepting nominations for 2014 Business Achievement Awards. To submit nominations, the deadline for which is December 12, please fill out the form available at https://ebionline.org/business-achievement-awards-nomination.