Large improvements in cellulosic ethanol yield claimed  

Cleantech.com reports that Qteros (previously SunEthanol) is claiming it has made dramatic improvements in cellulsoic ethanol yields - Qteros claims 15-fold improvements in cellulosic ethanol yield.

Hadley, Mass.-based Qteros, known until this week as SunEthanol, said it has improved its cellulosic ethanol yield by a factor of 15 since hiring Sarad Parekh as vice president of R&D in January.

Qteros Executive Vice President Jef Sharp told the Cleantech Group that the progress is the most significant since the two-year-old company first announced its microbe-based system that uses a fermentation method to digest and ferment cellulosic feedstocks to ethanol in a single-step process. "We will be continuously seeing improvement, as opposed to fossil fuels, which are going to cost more and more to get out of the ground," Sharp said. ...

Sharp told the Cleantech Group that the funding will build a lab in Massachusetts, expected to be functional next year. The company hasn't chosen a location yet. Qteros also plans to roughly double its scientific staff from 20 to about 40, he said.