November 15th at 5:30pm CST - November 15th at 7:30pm CST
Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum Happy Hour and Seminar
Free appetizers
Cash bar
Rapid commercialization of technology at scale is a key to success in the green chemistry space. This must translate into a low-cost position relative to incumbent products in order to be disruptive and drive change. To do this, open innovation is critical. Such collaborative efforts can help to reduce cost position and time to market.
FEATURING
Open Innovation for Early Stage Companies: The BioAmber Experience
Jim Mills, Chief Technology Officer, BioAmber Inc.
Jim Hobbs, Vice President of Business Developement, BioAmber Inc.
About BioAmber
BioAmber is a renewable chemistry company that transforms agricultural feedstocks into green chemicals that are a direct substitute for petrochemicals. BioAmber's core product is biobased succinic acid, a chemical building block that can be used to produce a wide range of products. BioAmber has strategic partnerships with a number of leading multinational corporations including Cargill, DuPont, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Chemical. BioAmber raised $45 million in May 2011 to accelerate the commercialization of its biosuccinic acid platform including the construction of a 17,000 MT plant in North America.
Bios
Jim Millis, Chief Technology Officer at BioAmber Inc., has thirty years experience in the field of industrial biotechnology. Mr. Millis most recently served as CEO of Draths Corporation. Prior to that he served as Technical Director for Cargill’s Industrial Bioproducts business unit, where he oversaw the creation of new chemical businesses in biobased urethane polyols and in the application of metathesis chemistry, the latter now Elevance. Earlier positions included business and technical leadership roles at Maxygen and Bio-Technical Resources. Mr. Millis has been involved in the commercial development and scale-up of several technologies, spanning fermentation and chemical catalysis, and has 20 issued U.S. patents.
Jim Hobbs, Vice President of Business Development for BioAmber Inc., was previously VP Marketing/Sales and General Manager at Streater, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. Prior to that he served as Global Product Director, Managing Director of Japan and Global Commercial Director for NatureWorks LLC, where he led business development of a “new to the world” polymer in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Prior to joining NatureWorks, Hobbs was at Dow Chemical for 11 years in various marketing and sales leadership roles. Jim has a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
The Minnesota Green Chemistry Forum is convened by:
Sponsors:
Pauly, DeVries Smith, and Deffner, LLC Intellectual Property Law and AMEC