Daily Report: A New Approach to Clean Technology - New York Times

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A tray of raw malonic acid at Lygos. The start-up plans to use the funding it has secured to make its acid at an industrial scale. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times

One of the biggest crazes consuming Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists late in the last decade was “clean technology,” the kinds of technologies that would cut down on pollutants and dirty fuels.

Billions of dollars were piled into clean technology ideas as numerous start-ups sprouted to advance and commercialize the field. But many of these companies later faded or outright crashed because the new technologies were not practical, did not make money or both.

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But clean tech isn’t dead, writes Quentin Hardy, a New York Times technology reporter. Instead, the re-emergence of the field is encapsulated in a start-up called Lygos.

Based in Berkeley, Calif., Lygos is trying to do what many clean tech companies have tried to do in the past: Create safe, cheap and natural materials for fuel and other goods. But that’s where the similarities end.

Lygos has more tools at its disposal to help it achieve results at a bigger scale, writes Quentin. It has also set its sights lower by targeting just a few chemicals, and not striving to remake an entire industry wholesale. The company’s approach also involves making little changes at a fast rate and constantly readjusting, as opposed to previous companies that often waited and worked behind the scenes for a long time until they made a big reveal.

Eric Steen, a co-founder of Lygos, is betting this new approach will gain traction.

“Evolution is the most powerful algorithm ever, but you have to figure out how to stack it in your favor,” he said.

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