Investments in Joint Ventures and Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended							12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					12 Months Ended		24 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		24 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	May 31, 2011 t	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) t	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 20, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] t	Dec. 31, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2011 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] Brazilian Development Bank [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] Brazilian Development Bank [Member] BRL	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] Bank Guarantee Brazilian Development Bank [Member]	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] Corporate Guarantee Brazilian Development Bank [Member]	Nov. 30, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] Brazil t	Dec. 31, 2013 Corporate Joint Venture [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Corporate Joint Venture [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Payment to be made in Fiscal 2012 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum [Member] Payment to be made after December 31, 2012 [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Parent Company [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Parent Company [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Parent Company [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2012 Parent Company [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]	Nov. 03, 2010 Parent Company [Member] Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Warrants Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Joint Venture Dissolution Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Unrecoverable Receivables [Member] Joint Venture Dissolution Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Unrecoverable Capital Contribution [Member] Joint Venture Dissolution Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture [Member] USD ($)	May 31, 2011 Entered joint venture agreement [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]	May 31, 2011 Commencement of construction of the plant [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]	May 31, 2011 Oil production goal [Member] Solazyme Bunge JV [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Annual production capacity									100,000					100,000								300,000
Capital contribution committed amount																									$ 36,300,000	$ 36,300,000
Amount of capital contributed to joint venture									12,431,000	10,000,000																	12,300,000	10,000,000	22,300,000			12,300,000	10,000,000	22,300,000
Percentage of ownership interest owned													49.90%																	50.10%	50.00%
Loss from equity method investments		(2,696,000)	(2,360,000)	(2,222,000)	(959,000)	(631,000)	(683,000)	(510,000)	(8,237,000)	(1,824,000)					6,800,000	1,800,000																					700,000	700,000
Company granted Bunge Limited a warrant																	1,000,000
Percentage of warrants vested in joint venture agreement																																							25.00%	50.00%	25.00%
Exercise price of the warrant																	13.50
Triglyceride oil at the plant reaches	1,000
Warrants expiration date															2021-05-01
Investment in Solazyme Bunge JV													10,400,000
Warrant liability for the unvested warrant shares		688,000				835,000			688,000	835,000			7,700,000		700,000	800,000
Adjustments to additional paid in capital for vested warrants issued									98,000			4,600,000	2,700,000
Warrant shares vested, shares																																			750,000
Gain (loss) from change in fair value of warrant liability		572,000	200,000	(679,000)	54,000	748,000	685,000	851,000	(147,000)	(2,284,000)	3,637,000				100,000	2,300,000
Approval for project financing received in the form of loan																		104,000,000	245,700,000
Average interest rate on loan		5.60%				4.60%			5.60%	4.60%								4.00%	4.00%
Term of the loan																		8 years	8 years
Percentage of loan amount available guaranteed																				14.39%	35.71%
Joint venture dissolution date																																				Jul. 18, 2013
Company recognized revenue related to research and development arrangements									8,100,000	2,200,000	0
Related party receivables		6,900,000				2,200,000			6,900,000	2,200,000
Unbilled revenue															$ 1,058,000								$ 1,100,000	$ 800,000