When Verenium Corp. officially opened its $60 million demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol production facility just outside of Jennings, La., in May, it was a great day for the company and the community. Nearly 100 people attended the event, but as soon as it ended, it was back to business as usual on the property that houses both the 1.4 MMgy demo plant and Verenium's pilot-scale facility.
Before summarizing the plant's purpose in his remarks at the grand opening ceremony, Verenium President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Riva said he looks forward to making cellulosic ethanol production a reality. The plant was built to validate Verenium's processes and economic criteria, as well as to provide a basis for engineering design that the company can use for its future commercial-scale facilities.
One of Verenium's strengths has been its specialty enzymes division, headquartered in San Diego. However, the entire third floor of the demo plant in Jennings is devoted to enzyme production and development, as well. Researchers in Jennings have the ability to work with real-world applications and share that information with the lab in San Diego. "While current enzyme performance is satisfactory in providing an economic design basis for the commercialization of Verenium's ethanol process, work to increase enzyme performance and yield, and lower cost, will be an ongoing process," says Kelly Lindenboom, Verenium's vice president of corporate communications.
The facility began start-up in May and expects to reach the optimization phase by the end of the year. So far, the plant has been using sugarcane bagasse and energy cane as feedstocks. A steady supply of both is being delivered to the plant by Cajun Sugar Co-op, which is comprised of approximately 70 sugarcane growers within 90 miles of the plant.
Co-op member and lifetime farmer Joe Judice works 2,100 acres of farmland around the area bayous and is happy to contribute feedstock to Verenium. He has been on the short end of falling sugar prices in recent years and says energy crops will become a viable alternative for farmers who are struggling to make ends meet. He was one of a handful of farmers who agreed to grow energy cane on an experimental basis for Verenium, and he says he has been extremely pleased with the results. He says energy cane has been easier to grow than sugarcane and that it's a good option for him to plant on some of his marginal land. However, he plans to continue growing sugarcane, as well, while working to find the right balance of energy crop and food crop. "If we lose the ability to feed ourselves, we're in big trouble," he says. The co-op is extremely supportive of Verenium, and members believe that having a cellulosic ethanol plant in their community will present new and exciting possibilities for area residents.
In early August, approximately three months after start-up, Verenium and oil titan BP Corp. announced an 18-month collaboration to advance commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol. As part of the agreement, BP is giving Verenium $90 million in exchange for rights to current and future technology held within the partnership, production facilities, and agronomics expertise. The Jennings facility played a significant role in attracting BP to Verenium. Sue Ellerbusch, president of BP Biofuels North America, says Verenium's proven technology and scientific expertise, along with its commitment to use nonfood feedstocks, made it the ideal partner for BP's advanced biofuels itinerary. Research conducted as part of the BP-Verenium partnership will be carried out at the Jennings facility.
Verenium was also one of two companies selected in July to receive $40 million from the U.S. DOE to make cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012. Verenium will use the funding to continue its activities in Jennings. The process technology being used there has also been marketed in Asia and served as the example for Tokyo-based Marubeni Corp.'s pilot cellulosic ethanol facility in Sarubeni, Thailand, which officially opened in late July.
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