The Company	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
The Company	THE COMPANY Solazyme, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware on March 31, 2003. The Company’s proprietary technology uses highly optimized microalgae in an industrial fermentation process to transform a range of abundant plant-based sugars into high-value triglyceride oils and other bioproducts. The Company’s renewable products can replace or enhance products derived from the world’s three existing oil sources: petroleum, plants, and animal fats. The Company has the ability to tailor the composition of its oils and other bioproducts to address specific customer requirements, offering superior performance characteristics and value via a renewable pathway. The Company has pioneered an industrial biotechnology platform that harnesses the oil-producing characteristics of microalgae. The Company uses standard industrial fermentation equipment to convert sugars into the desired end product. Fermentation helps accelerate microalgae’s natural biological process, allowing the Company to produce large amounts of a desired product in a matter of days. By feeding plant-based sugars to the Company’s proprietary oil-producing microalgae in enclosed fermentation tanks, the Company is in effect utilizing “indirect photosynthesis.” The Company’s technology platform is feedstock flexible and can utilize a wide variety of renewable plant-based sugars. The Company currently uses sugarcane-based sucrose and corn-based dextrose as its two primary feedstock sources. The Company's technology can also support sugar from other sustainable biomass sources including cellulosics, which the Company believes will represent an important alternative feedstock in the future. Beyond triglyceride oils and other bioproducts, the Company’s technology platform allows it to also produce and sell specialty algal meal products for a range of product applications that utilize the protein, fiber and other compounds found in the cell wall and algal body of the microalgae. In January 2014, the Company commenced commercial operations at both Archer Daniels Midland Company's ("ADM") Clinton, Iowa facility, and the downstream companion facility operated by American Natural Processors, Inc. ("ANP") in Galva, Iowa ("Clinton/Galva Facilities"). In May 2014, the Company's joint venture with Bunge Global Innovation, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Bunge") produced its first products at the Solazyme Bunge Renewable Oils plant in Brazil ("Solazyme Bunge JV Plant"), and manufacturing operations and processes continue to be optimized as the Solazyme Bunge JV Plant is ramped up. In October 2015, the Company made a strategic decision to terminate its current manufacturing agreements at the ADM and ANP facilities. The Company plans to focus its production at the Solazyme Bunge JV Plant and at its Peoria facility in the immediate future. The industry in which the Company is involved is highly competitive and is characterized by the risks of changing technologies, market conditions, and regulatory requirements. Penetration into markets requires investment of considerable resources and continuous development efforts. The Company’s future success depends upon several factors, including the technological quality, price, and performance of its products and services relative to those of its competitors, scaling up of production for commercial sale, ability to secure adequate project financing at appropriate terms, and the nature of regulation in its target markets.

THE COMPANY

Solazyme, Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in the State of Delaware on March 31, 2003. The Company’s proprietary technology uses highly optimized microalgae in an industrial fermentation process to transform a range of abundant plant-based sugars into high-value triglyceride oils and other bioproducts. The Company’s renewable products can replace or enhance products derived from the world’s three existing oil sources: petroleum, plants, and animal fats. The Company has the ability to tailor the composition of its oils and other bioproducts to address specific customer requirements, offering superior performance characteristics and value via a renewable pathway. The Company has pioneered an industrial biotechnology platform that harnesses the oil-producing characteristics of microalgae. The Company uses standard industrial fermentation equipment to convert sugars into the desired end product. Fermentation helps accelerate microalgae’s natural biological process, allowing the Company to produce large amounts of a desired product in a matter of days. By feeding plant-based sugars to the Company’s proprietary oil-producing microalgae in enclosed fermentation tanks, the Company is in effect utilizing “indirect photosynthesis.” The Company’s technology platform is feedstock flexible and can utilize a wide variety of renewable plant-based sugars. The Company currently uses sugarcane-based sucrose and corn-based dextrose as its two primary feedstock sources. The Company's technology can also support sugar from other sustainable biomass sources including cellulosics, which the Company believes will represent an important alternative feedstock in the future. Beyond triglyceride oils and other bioproducts, the Company’s technology platform allows it to also produce and sell specialty algal meal products for a range of product applications that utilize the protein, fiber and other compounds found in the cell wall and algal body of the microalgae. In January 2014, the Company commenced commercial operations at both Archer Daniels Midland Company's ("ADM") Clinton, Iowa facility, and the downstream companion facility operated by American Natural Processors, Inc. ("ANP") in Galva, Iowa ("Clinton/Galva Facilities"). In May 2014, the Company's joint venture with Bunge Global Innovation, LLC (together with its affiliates, "Bunge") produced its first products at the Solazyme Bunge Renewable Oils plant in Brazil ("Solazyme Bunge JV Plant"), and manufacturing operations and processes continue to be optimized as the Solazyme Bunge JV Plant is ramped up. In October 2015, the Company made a strategic decision to terminate its current manufacturing agreements at the ADM and ANP facilities. The Company plans to focus its production at the Solazyme Bunge JV Plant and at its Peoria facility in the immediate future.

The industry in which the Company is involved is highly competitive and is characterized by the risks of changing technologies, market conditions, and regulatory requirements. Penetration into markets requires investment of considerable resources and continuous development efforts. The Company’s future success depends upon several factors, including the technological quality, price, and performance of its products and services relative to those of its competitors, scaling up of production for commercial sale, ability to secure adequate project financing at appropriate terms, and the nature of regulation in its target markets.