Investments in Joint Ventures and Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended				1 Months Ended				1 Months Ended					3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		27 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	May 31, 2011 T	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($) T	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jun. 20, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Apr. 02, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV T	Mar. 31, 2014 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	May 31, 2011 Solazyme Bunge JV	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV Brazilian Development Bank USD ($)	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV Brazilian Development Bank BRL	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV Bank guarantees Brazilian Development Bank	Feb. 28, 2013 Solazyme Bunge JV Corporate Guarantee Brazilian Development Bank	Nov. 30, 2012 Solazyme Bunge JV Brazil T	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Payment to be made in Fiscal 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Maximum Payment to be made after December 31, 2012 USD ($)	Nov. 03, 2010 Parent Company Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture	Apr. 02, 2012 Parent Company Solazyme Bunge JV	Mar. 31, 2014 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2013 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 Warrants Solazyme Bunge JV	Sep. 30, 2013 Joint Venture Dissolution Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture	Jun. 30, 2013 Joint Venture Dissolution Solazyme Roquette Joint Venture	May 31, 2011 Entered joint venture agreement Solazyme Bunge JV	May 31, 2011 Commencement of construction of the plant Solazyme Bunge JV	May 31, 2011 Oil production goal Solazyme Bunge JV	Apr. 30, 2014 Subsequent Event Bunge Global Innovation LLC Solazyme Bunge JV USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Annual production capacity		100,000					100,000									300,000
Percentage of ownership interest owned						49.90%													50.00%	50.10%
Capital contribution committed amount																	$ 36,300,000	$ 36,300,000
Amount of capital contributed to joint venture		8,050,000	5,500,000																		8,100,000	12,300,000	10,000,000	30,300,000							10,000,000
Loss from equity method investments		3,834,000	959,000					3,800,000	1,000,000
Company granted Bunge Limited a warrant											1,000,000
Exercise price of the warrant											13.50
Percentage of warrants vested in joint venture agreement																												25.00%	50.00%	25.00%
Triglyceride oil at the plant reaches	1,000
Warrants expiration date								2021-05-01
Investment in Solazyme Bunge JV						10,400,000
Adjustments to additional paid in capital for vested warrants issued					4,600,000	2,700,000
Warrant liability for the unvested warrant shares		0		688,000		7,700,000
Fair value assumptions of the warrant liability, volatility rate								50.00%
Fair value assumptions of the warrant liability, risk-free interest rate								2.45%
Fair value assumptions of the warrant liability, exercise price								$ 13.50
Fair value assumptions of the warrant liability, expected life								7 years 4 months 2 days
Net unrealized gain (loss) related to fair value of the warrant liability		688,000	54,000					700,000	54,000
Warrant shares vested, shares																									750,000
Approval for project financing received in the form of loan												108,400,000	245,700,000
Percentage of loan amount available guaranteed														14.39%	35.71%
Term of the loan												8 years	8 years
Average interest rate on loan												4.00%	4.00%
Joint venture dissolution date																										Jul. 18, 2013	Jul. 18, 2013
Company recognized revenue related to research and development arrangements								3,400,000	800,000
Due from Related Parties, Current								7,300,000		6,900,000
Unbilled revenue								$ 1,705,000		$ 1,100,000