The story
Founding
Solazyme, Inc., was founded on 31 March 2003, with the mission of utilizing microalgae to create a renewable source of energy and transportation fuels. Founders Jonathan S. Wolfson and Harrison Dillon, who met while attending Emory University, started the company in a garage in Palo Alto. Regarding their partnership, Dillon said: "Neither of us wanted to go work for some giant organization where we were a tiny cog in a huge wheel. We wanted to make a difference and create something that had never existed before.”
In 2013 Dillon announced his decision to step down from his full-time position as CTO and member of the Board of Directors of Solazyme and shift to a long-term consulting role focused on further developing the breadth of the technology platform and advising on intellectual property strategy.
Wolfson continued on as chairman and CEO of Solazyme until August 2016 when he stepped down from management while he stayed on the board.
TerraVia appointed Apu Mody, former president of Mars Food America, as new CEO and a member of the board of directors, in August 2016.
Initial focus and technology
In 2004 and 2005, Solazyme began development of an algal molecular biology platform, identified and initiated a platform for microalgae-based oil production. The company then expanded focus on skin and personal care products.
Solazyme used a technique to grow microalgae, which allows the production process to be extremely efficient in terms of cost, scale, time, and sustainability. In contrast to common open pond and photo bioreactor approaches, TerraVia grows microalgae in the dark, inside huge stainless-steel containers.
In September 2007, Solazyme received a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, signed a joint development agreement with Chevron through its division Chevron Technology Ventures, began operating in commercially sized standard industrial fermentation equipment (75,000-liter scale), worked with a third party refiner to demonstrate the compatibility of the oil with standard refining equipment, and produced over 400 liters of microalgae-based oils.
In January 2008, Solazyme was featured in Fields of Fuel, which was played at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. At the event, it presented a Mercedes-Benz C320 fueled with its Soladiesel brand of algal fuel.
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Also in January 2008, the company announced a partnership with Chevron Technology Ventures to explore the commercialization of algal fuel. Later that year, the company stated that it had produced the world's first jet fuel derived from an algal source.
In 2009, Solazyme was awarded approximately $22 million from the United States Department of Energy for the construction of an integrated biorefinery project. It also formed a contract with the United States Department of Defense to deliver microalgae-based marine (renewable F-76) diesel fuel to the United States Navy.
In 2011, the company announced it had produced over 283,000 liters of military-spec diesel (HRF-76) for the United States Navy. The initial fuel production for phase 1 of a 550,000 liter contract was completed ahead of schedule. Also in 2011 Solazyme and United Airlines partnered to fly the first ever commercial flight on biofuels including the signing of an LOI for United to purchase 20 million gallons of Solajet fuel.
In 2012, Solazyme partnered with the Navy for the Rim of the Pacific Exercises (RIMPAC) Great Green Fleet (GGF) demonstration in which numerous naval vessels and fighter jets ran on a blend of traditional and renewable fuels in the largest demonstration of its kind.
Initial public offering
In May 2011, Solazyme set terms for its initial public offering. The company planned to raise $160 million by offering 10 million shares at a price range of $15 to $17 and ended up selling 7,901,800 shares for $20 each in its first day of trading.
Investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs reported in July 2011 that with the commercialization of new oil products, Solazyme stock had become less risky. The bank initiated coverage with a top rating and $31 target. In a note to clients, it said Solazyme (Nasdaq: TVIA) stood to boost sales and become more stable now that it had partnered with major agribusinesses like Bunge Limited.
Joint venture with Bunge Limited
On 8 August 2011, Solazyme announced a joint venture with agribusiness company Bunge Limited to develop renewable oils in Brazil using Solazyme's algae-based sugar-to-oil technology.
In April 2012, Solazyme and Bunge announced a plan to construct a shared commercial-scale production facility in Brazil. As one of the world's largest vegetable oil distributors, Bunge would supply the facility with sugarcane feedstock from its sugarcane processor in Brazil for use in Solazyme algae oil production process.
Construction of the new facility began in June 2012 and in May 2014, the joint venture plant began oil production.
In late 2015, Solazyme and Bunge announced an expansion of their joint venture, which included an agreement to have Bunge market the food oils produced through the joint venture.
The production of AlgaPrime DHA was announced in May 2016 and is the first product under the joint venture of TerraVia and Bunge. AlgaPrime DHA is a new algae-based specialty feed ingredient designed to reduce the aquaculture industry's dependence on wild fish populations.
From Wikipedia’s article on TerraVia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3