Xyleco

Xyleco is a privately held scientific research and manufacturing company in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Xyleco is developing a process to convert biomass into useful products, including cellulosic ethanol. The board of directors includes Steven Chu and George Shultz. Employee reviews of Xyleco are mixed. Some workers are extremely optimistic as the company grows, while other workers find management secretive and manipulative.

Xyleco's process involves using ionizing radiation from an electron particle accelerator to break apart cellulose molecules. Accelerators are energy-intensive, but treatment times are short.

History
According to a 2019 story on "60 Minutes", the company was started by Marshall Medoff, a then 81-year old without a formal science education. He got his inspiration by spending time at Walden Pond, and studying research papers in a storage facility for 15 years. During that time, he was granted over 300 patents. Several 2002 patents were for plastic-cellulose-fiber composites expected to be stronger than ordinary plastic based on resins and wood fiber. In 2004, Rubbermaid agreed to work with Xyleco to develop a material that would be stronger and cheaper than current materials.

In 2009, Medoff hired his first employee, Craig Masterman, an MIT graduate in chemistry. Using $45 million from investors, they built a testing laboratory in Wakefield, Massachusetts, in March 2015.

Marshall Medoff
Marshall Medoff was born December 30, 1937. He died November 17th, 2021.

Company reputation
Xyleco came to public attention in January 2019, when Lesley Stahl did a "60 Minutes" piece lauding Medoff as an eccentric but remarkably successful inventor. Two months later, Lux Research published a review stating that "Lux views Xyleco with a great deal of skepticism... [G]iven its incorrect claims regarding the bioeconomy, exorbitantly expensive patent portfolio, unclear technology development history, and esteemed yet unrelated board, Lux believes that Xyleco is likely a scam." Reviewers on Reddit were also highly skeptical of Medoff's claims.