EMERYVILLE, Calif. and PARIS, France -- Amyris, Inc., a leading renewable chemicals and fuels company, and Michelin (EPA: ML) a leading innovator in the tire industry, announced that the two companies have signed a definitive agreement to collaborate in the development and commercialization of Amyris No Compromise renewable isoprene, the chemical building block in rubber tires and other products that use synthetic and natural rubbers.

Under the agreement, Amyris and Michelin will partner to contribute funding and technical resources to develop Amyriss technology to produce isoprene from renewable feedstocks. Amyris expects to begin commercializing this isoprene in 2015 for use in tire and other specialty chemical applications such as adhesives, coatings and sealants. Michelin is committed to off-take volumes on a ten-year basis. In addition, Amyris retains the right to market its renewable isoprene to other customers.

"This partnership will allow both companies to continue Michelins tradition of innovation in the tire industry and expand Amyriss industrial biotechnology platform for new products," said John Melo, CEO of Amyris. "Growing demand for isoprene and a desire to increase the sourcing of sustainable raw materials create a great opportunity for Amyris to bring to market renewable solutions with No Compromise performance that also reduce price volatility."

Amyriss technology, currently used to produce at commercial scale a 15-carbon molecule called farnesene, can also convert plant-based sugars into isoprene, a 5-carbon molecule and main ingredient in the production of synthetic rubber. Isoprene has traditionally been produced as a by-product of the thermal cracking of naphtha to produce ethylene or via C4 refinery stream synthesis. As the petrochemical industry adjusts to lighter cracking slates with the advent of shale gas, new sources of isoprene have become necessary.