TeselaGen Biotechnology and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have signed a new five-year contract that extends their existing partnership focused on research into new biofuels and other bioproducts.
In 2017, JBEI was selected as one of four DOE Bioenergy Research Centers to receive funding for biofuels and bioproducts research. At the time, the four centers were slated to receive $40 million in initial funding for fiscal year 2018 with plans to supply more funding for another four years.
TeselaGen and JBEI have been collaborating since 2017 on bioinformatics tools for running JBEI’s synthetic biology workflows. The company’s platform has helped JBEI scientists develop and deliver renewable carbon-neutral biofuels from nonfood plant fibers. That work will continue under the renewed contract, and the partners plan to add expanded workflow capabilities to the TeselaGen platform.
“We are honored to continue to work with JBEI with their ongoing efforts to enable the cost-effective biological production of fuels, products, and other components that are traditionally made through chemical processes,” Eduardo Abeliuk, PhD, TeselaGen’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.
TeselaGen’s platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to connect data, tools, and protocols enabling biologists, lab technicians, and bioinformaticians to run high-throughput biomanufacturing workflows seamlessly. Earlier this year, TeselaGen partnered with NinthBio to integrate that company’s Homology Path design algorithm to help users design and construct DNA variant libraries efficiently.
Over the years, TeselaGen has forged several partnerships aimed at building the U.S. bioeconomy. Besides JBEI, TeselaGen has had a contract with BioMADE, a Department of Defense-sponsored bioindustrial manufacturing institute, that is focused on developing technologies for standardizing data exchange, connecting software systems, and implementing protocols for collaboration.
Separately, TeselaGen has a partnership with the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab focused on advancing fermentation processes for developing renewable bioproducts. Under the terms of the agreement, ABPDU is using TeselaGen’s data acquisition capabilities to organize complex datasets throughout its biomanufacturing workflows.