Singapore: Novozymes, the world leader in bioinnovation and industrial enzymes, and Terranol, a Denmark-based biotechnology company specialized in yeast, entered an agreement that will ensure the final optimization of the Terranol C5 yeast strain and give Novozymes the rights to register and market the technology.

C5 yeast is an essential component in the production of cellulosic ethanol, and the partnership will allow Novozymes to speed up global rollout of Terranol's yeast to customers in the cellulosic ethanol industry.

Dr Claus Crone Fuglsang, VP, R&D, Novozymes, said that, "With our combined R&D capabilities we can ensure the final optimization of the strain in order to achieve maximum economic performance for our cellulosic ethanol customers."

Dr Birgitte Rønnow, CEO, Terranol, "A yeast that ferments C5 sugars is essential to cost-efficient production of cellulosic ethanol. Our C5 yeast is among the furthest developed in the industry and by leveraging Novozymes' global marketing muscle we can speed up its commercialization."

In February, Novozymes launched Novozymes Cellic CTec3, the best-performing enzyme on the market for production of cellulosic ethanol. The first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants are scheduled to open later this year.