Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil production company and leader in algal biotechnology, has hired Adriano Galvez as senior vice president of manufacturing and process development. In this role, Galvez will be responsible for scale up and commercialization including the optimization of processes across Solazyme’s three market areas; Fuels and Chemicals, Nutritionals, and Solazyme Health Sciences. “With the integration of algal oils in a variety of key market industries, Solazyme is already producing thousands of gallons of oil at scale and moving into full fuels scale plant development is the next step,” said Jonathan Wolfson, CEO of Solzayme. “Adriano has the technological expertise and the management skills required to lead Solazyme through this critical phase of expansion and development.”
While Solazyme has made its biggest impact in fuels & chemicals, the company also supplies algal oils to the food, nutritionals and health sciences markets. Interest in these three key market areas – evidenced by partnerships with companies like Chevron and Unilever – has the company looking to expand its manufacturing capabilities.
Galvez will use his technical background in chemical and biomass processing to oversee major manufacturing projects for Solazyme, including plant development. In addition to his technical duties, Galvez will also oversee operations and maintenance functions.
Prior to joining Solazyme, Galvez was the chief technology officer at EdeniQ Inc., a cellulosic biofuels company, directing all of the company’s technology efforts from concept to commercialization. At Altra Biofuels, Galvez served as senior vice president of technology and technical services, responsible for the company’s R&D program, new technology initiatives and customer technical services. In both positions, Galvez was instrumental in increasing efficiencies, yields and profits.
Galvez has also held technical and engineering positions with Chippewa Valley Ethanol and Delta-T Corp., where he was responsible for multi-million dollar expansion projects for chemical and biomass processing. He spent his early years at Archer Daniel Midland and Grain Processing Corp., managing the production of alcohol for the beverage, industrial and fuel markets.
“Solazyme has a proven renewable oil production process that fits neatly into existing infrastructure and scales well,” said Galvez. “I look forward to implementing strategies and building efficient practices that will help the company propel the commercialization of algal oils for a sustainable future.”
No comments:
Post a Comment