At the beginning of the 21st century mankind is facing an energy challenge as a consequence of the world s increasing energy demand, the depletion of "easy" oil and gas fields, and the impact of CO 2 emissions on the Earth s climate ("three hard truths"). [1] Much research is therefore being devoted to the exploration and development of new, carbon-lean energy sources. These include biofuels, which are the most promising option for the transportation sector in the coming decades. [2] The first generation of biofuels is presently produced from sugars, starches, and vegetable oil. Although instrumental in developing the market, these biofuels are not likely to deliver the large volumes needed for the transport sector because they directly compete with food for their feedstock. A more promising feedstock is lignocellulosic material, which is more abundant, has a lower cost, and is potentially more sustainable. [3] Lignocellulose is recalcitrant and, therefore, requires complex and expensive processes for upgrading to biofuels. [4] Interestingly, it has been claimed that levulinic acid (LA) can be easily and cheaply produced from lignocellulosic materials by using a simple and robust hydrolysis process. [5] Several LA derivatives have been proposed for fuel applications, for instance ethyl levulinate (EL), g-valerolactone (gVL), and methyl tetrahydrofuran (MTHF). [5,6] However, these components do not exhibit satisfactory properties when blended in current fuels. Herein, we present a new platform of LA derivatives, the "valeric biofuels", which we have been developing since 2004 and which can deliver both gasoline and diesel components that are fully compatible with transportation fuels.The manufacture of valeric biofuels (Scheme 1) consists of the acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials to LA, the hydrogenation of the acid to gVL and valeric acid (VA), and finally esterification to alkyl (mono/di)valerate esters. One of these steps, the hydrogenation of gVL to VA (Scheme 1, step 3), has not been reported in the literature and was developed in our laboratory. All the other steps are known but were nevertheless revisited and, wherever possible, improved. This holds for the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of lignocellulose to LA, [5,7] the hydrogenation of LA to gVL with the use of supported metal catalysts, [8] as well as the familiar esterification of carboxylic acids. Herein, we present the main results of the hydrogenation of gVL to VA (Scheme 1, step 3), key improvements in the hydrogenation of LA to gVL (step 2), options for integrating steps 2-4, and finally a thorough evaluation of the fuel performance of the resulting

At the beginning of the 21st century mankind is facing an energy challenge as a consequence of the worlds increasing energy demand, the depletion of "easy" oil and gas fields, and the impact of CO 2 emissions on the Earths climate ("three hard truths").[1] Much research is therefore being devoted to the exploration and development of new, carbon-lean energy sources. These include biofuels, which are the most promising option for the transportation sector in the coming decades.[2]The first generation of biofuels is presently produced from sugars, starches, and vegetable oil. Although instrumental in developing the market, these biofuels are not likely to deliver the large volumes needed for the transport sector because they directly compete with food for their feedstock. A more promising feedstock is lignocellulosic material, which is more abundant, has a lower cost, and is potentially more sustainable. [3] Lignocellulose is recalcitrant and, therefore, requires complex and expensive processes for upgrading to biofuels. [4] Interestingly, it has been claimed that levulinic acid (LA) can be easily and cheaply produced from lignocellulosic materials by using a simple and robust hydrolysis process.[5] Several LA derivatives have been proposed for fuel applications, for instance ethyl levulinate (EL), g-valerolactone (gVL), and methyl tetrahydrofuran (MTHF). [5,6] However, these components do not exhibit satisfactory properties when blended in current fuels. Herein, we present a new platform of LA derivatives, the "valeric biofuels", which we have been developing since 2004 and which can deliver both gasoline and diesel components that are fully compatible with transportation fuels.The manufacture of valeric biofuels (Scheme 1) consists of the acid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials to LA, the hydrogenation of the acid to gVL and valeric acid (VA), and finally esterification to alkyl (mono/di)valerate esters. One of these steps, the hydrogenation of gVL to VA (Scheme 1, step 3), has not been reported in the literature and was developed in our laboratory. All the other steps are known but were nevertheless revisited and, wherever possible, improved. This holds for the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of lignocellulose to LA, [5,7] the hydrogenation of LA to gVL with the use of supported metal catalysts, [8] as well as the familiar esterification of carboxylic acids. Herein, we present the main results of the hydrogenation of gVL to VA (Scheme 1, step 3), key improvements in the hydrogenation of LA to gVL (step 2), options for integrating steps 2-4, and finally a thorough evaluation of the fuel performance of the resulting

Since the beginning of the 21st Century, synthetic biology has established itself as an effective technological approach to design and engineer biological systems. Whilst research and investment continues to develop the understanding, control and engineering infrastructural platforms necessary to tackle ever more challenging systems — and to increase the precision, robustness, speed and affordability of existing solutions — hundreds of start-up companies, predominantly in the US and UK, are already translating learnings and potential applications into commercially viable tools, services and products. Start-ups and SMEs have been the predominant channel for synthetic biology commercialisation to date, facilitating rapid response to changing societal interests and market pull arising from increasing awareness of health and global sustainability issues. Private investment in start-ups across the US and UK is increasing rapidly and now totals over $12bn. Health-related biotechnology applications have dominated the commercialisation of products to date, but significant opportunities for the production of bio-derived materials and chemicals, including consumer products, are now being developed. Synthetic biology start-ups developing tools and services account for between 10% (in the UK) and ∼25% (in the US) of private investment activity. Around 20% of synthetic biology start-ups address industrial biotechnology targets, but currently, only attract ∼11% private investment. Adopting a more networked approach — linking specialists, infrastructure and ongoing research to de-risk the economic challenges of scale-up and supported by an effective long-term funding strategy — is set to transform the impact of synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology in the bioeconomy.