The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of replacing 30 percent of gasoline used in the United States with fuels from renewable biological sources by 2030. So it is hardly surprising that some biotech startup companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of an anticipated booming biofuels market.

While much of the focus is on etha­nol, LS9 of San Carlos, CA, is using relatively new "synthetic biology" techniques to engineer bacteria that can make hydrocarbons for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Hydrocarbon fuels are better suited than ethanol to existing infrastructure, and their manufacture would require less energy.