Nidus Adds Novozymes As Corporate Partner

By St. Louis Business Journal

Nidus Partners, which identifies new renewable energy technologies and then works with inventors to license the technology, has added Denmark-based Novozymes as its third corporate partner.

Novozymes spent $1.5 million to join the partnership — which already includes Bunge Ltd. (NYSE:BG) and Monsanto (NYSE:MON) — to select and develop early-stage energy technologies.

Launched in September 2010, Nidus, led by managing partner Vicki Gonzalez, pairs corporate partners who identify market opportunities with entrepreneurs to find and develop technologies. The corporate partners have a right of first offer for the innovations developed through Nidus, which said that a “limited number of additional partners with the appropriate market and technical expertise will be invited to participate in the partnership.”

So far, Nidus has reviewed hundreds of technologies resulting in three start-ups, Electrochaea LLC, Six Convert LLC and Xtend Energy. Electrochaea, led by CEO Mich Hein, developed technology that converts waste carbon dioxide or stranded electric power into methane, the main component for natural gas. Six Convert’s technology, developed by Washington University Ph.D. graduate Jeff Fornero, recovers energy from wastewater, converting biogas into methane. Xtend Energy’s technology was developed at Washington University by Professor Richard Axelbaum. The company is producing high-performance lithium-ion battery materiels, to improve electric vehicle batteries’ performance and cost effectiveness.

Copyright 2011 American City Business Journals

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2011/09/07/nidus-adds-novozymes-as-corporate.html?ana=thestreet

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints