James Croonenberghs

James Croonenberghs has extensive work experience in the biofuels and cellulosic ethanol industry. James began their career in 2008 at Novozymes, where they held multiple roles, including Sr. Department Manager - Homecare & Professional Innovation Team, Senior Project Manager, Project Manager Biofuels, Cellulosic Business Development Manager, Scientist - Biofuels Customer Solutions, and Associate Scientist - Biomass Customer Solutions. In these roles, they coordinated a multiyear portfolio of projects from concept through 1 year post launch, facilitated and led cross-functional teams, launched yeast, enzyme and bacterial-based products, and troubleshot and solved problems at all stages of the project development cycle. James also collaborated with a team of Sr Managers and Directors to establish a Biofuels Yeast Platform. Additionally, they screened and evaluated companies for techno-economic viability in regards to speed-to-market for cellulosic ethanol, conducted internal laboratory evaluations of company feedstocks, and developed relationships with relevant stakeholders at companies working on commercializing cellulosic ethanol.

Prior to this, James Croonenberghs held roles at North Carolina A&T State University from 2006, including Research Assistant and Teaching Assistant. In 2022, they began working at Curie Co as a Strategy and Business Planning Lead, and at Helios Labs as a Core Team member.

James Croonenberghs received a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physics (Honors) from Guilford College in 2005, following four years of study from 2001. James then obtained their Master of Science (MSc) in Civil and Environmental Engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2008, after two years of study from 2006.