Genomatica获本报创新奖材料类奖项

To cut our dependence on fossil fuels, it isn't enough to target only cars and power plants. There also needs to be renewable substitutes for oil and natural gas in making chemicals.

为减少我们对化石燃料的依赖，仅仅针对汽车和发电厂是不够的，我们还需要找到在化学品生产方面可以替代石油和天然气的可再生能源。

San Diego-based Genomatica Inc. won in the Materials category for a process for making basic chemicals using bioengineered microorganisms. Since June 2011, the company has been producing butanediol, a chemical used in making spandex clothing, athletic shoes and other products, at a demonstration plant in Decatur, Ill.

位于圣迭戈的Genomatica Inc.凭借一种用经生物工程处理过的微生物生产基本化学品的工艺赢得了材料类创新奖。自2011年6月以来，该公司一直在伊利诺伊州迪凯特(Decatur)的一个示范工厂生产丁二醇──这种化学品常用于氨纶服装、运动鞋和其他产品的生产当中。

Genomatica developed the microbe that can produce butanediol from simple sugars in a single step. The process, the company says, uses less energy, operates at a lower temperature and should be less costly than conventional chemical manufacturing. It also has used the process to produce small quantities of a second basic chemical, butadiene, used in synthetic rubber.

Genomatica开发出一种能够利用单糖经过一步生产丁二醇的微生物。该公司说，这种工艺使用的能源更少，可以在更低的温度下进行，理论上比传统化学品制造的成本要低。该公司还利用这一工艺少量生产另外一种基础化学品丁二烯。丁二烯常用于合成橡胶的生产中。

The company scratched a planned initial public stock offering in August, but raised an additional $41.5 million in financing from a group of private investors. A joint venture with an Italian company, Novamont SpA, plans to begin production of commercial quantities of butanediol beginning next year.

该公司取消了今年8月进行首次公开募股(IPO)的计划，但从一个私人投资者财团筹集了4,150万美元。该公司与意大利公司Novamont SpA组建的合资企业计划从明年开始丁二醇的商业化生产。

Runners-Up

入围名单：

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Wash., and Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, Ill.: A new process for producing propylene glycol, a chemical used in common, household products, from corn, soybeans or other oilseed crops instead of petroleum.

位于华盛顿州里奇兰(Richland)的Pacific Northwest National Laboratory和位于伊利诺伊州迪凯特的Archer Daniels Midland Co.凭借一种生产丙二醇的新工艺入围。丙二醇这种化学品可以用玉米、大豆和其他油料作物等家庭常见原料制备，不必使用石油。

Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich.: A new flame retardant used in polystyrene foam insulation that replaces an older chemical, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), which is toxic and harmful to the environment.

位于密歇根州米德兰(Midland)的陶氏化学(Dow Chemical Co.)凭借聚苯乙烯泡沫防火材料中使用的新型阻燃剂入围，这种阻燃剂可以替代传统化学品六溴环十二烷(HBCD)。六溴环十二烷有毒且对环境有害。