Mascoma Corporation

Mascoma is a leader in research and development of new industrial biotechnology products. Along with our affiliates in the Lallemand group we are leading the way in developing microbial products and applications that enable the efficient and sustainable production of fuels, feed, and food.  Our products create competitive advantage for our customers by improving yields and lowering variable costs in their manufacturing operations. For example our TransFerm and TransFerm Yield+ bioengineered yeast products are widely used in the fuel ethanol industry to improve ethanol production from grain.

Innovation at Mascoma 

We continue to use our science-driven approach to develop new products across a wide variety of applications including the conversion of sugar cane and biomass to fuels, as well as specialty products for food, beverage, and animal feed.  We envision a world in which renewable energy, sustainable food supply, and a healthy environment are achieved by combining cutting edge innovation with the efficient use of sustainable resources. The possibilities we can create are limitless!

Research and Development facility

The Research and Development facility in Lebanon, New Hampshire, features 12,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space, including fermentation, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry and analytical labs.  Our teams of professional scientists utilize the state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to achieve advances in strain development, metabolic engineering, small-scale fermentation, and pretreatment, leading to new technology developments in renewable fuels and chemicals.

Harnessing the Power of Modern Biotechnology

Mascoma utilizes the tools of modern biotechnology to develop microorganisms (yeast and bacteria) that improve industrial processes.  We also incorporate our strong knowledge of industrial applications to create products that work in the real world, not just the laboratory.  Our products have the industrial robustness and fast kinetics necessary to be plugged-in to existing production facilities without the need for expensive equipment modifications.  Our team of scientists in Lebanon, NH develops the yeast and bacteria and tests them in the application. The products are produced and sold by our affiliates in the Lallemand group.

Mascoma’s CBP Delivers Value to Producers

For biofuel and biochemical producers consistently achieving the highest rates, titers and yields of products possible is an imperative.  Moving down the production cost curve for conversion of starch, sugar and cellulosic materials in this multi-billion dollar market requires optimal performance of industrial biocatalysts.  Traditional processes use enzymes to break down complex sugars to simple sugars, and yeast or other microorganisms to convert these simple sugars to products like ethanol.  Mascoma’s CBP combines and optimizes these two processes to deliver value to producers:

• Enzyme Production: Specially designed and engineered yeasts, such as TransFerm, produce the required enzymes to break down complex sugars during fermentation, saving costs related to producing, stabilizing and shipping enzyme additives, and increasing yields by cost effectively breaking down more complex sugars.
• Fermentation: Engineered yeasts which can ferment xylose, have broader substrate ranges than wild type strains to significantly increase fermentation yields on complex substrates. Optimization of metabolic pathways in strains like TransFerm Yield+, can reduce the formation of byproducts such as glycerol, significantly increasing yield.

Products

Mascoma’s products are based on the idea of leveraging modern biotechnology to improve the cost of production for commodity fuels and chemicals produced from biomass.  In much the same way that the tools of modern biotechnology have been used to improve the characteristics of the world’s major crops, Mascoma’s engineered yeast provide improved yields and decreased costs to the world’s biofuel producers.  The abundance of genetic tools and long history of safe use for a variety of purposes, makes our yeast technology applicable across a large variety of markets and geographies.