Proterro is a venture-backed start-up developing non-crop-based, noncellulosic, fermentation-ready sugar feedstock that will enable the economical and scalable production of biofuels and chemicals.

The company, which is transitioning from discovery to the engineering phase, has functioning prototype sucrose-producing organisms and a working model photobioreactor system.

Proterro's clean sucrose is NOT derived from cellulosic biomass. Cellulosic sugars depend on an agricultural set of steps that Proterro avoids; they are made first in a constructive process that overshoots by building biomass that has a low-sugar content and, then, in a destructive process that removes toxins and isolates the desired sugars. These factors contribute to the high-capital and unit costs of cellulosic sugar.

Proterro sucrose, however, is solely made in a constructive manner. A sucrose molecule is built based on its elements, using a naturally occurring photosynthetic process.