A long-gestating cellulosic ethanol project is making some progress, and since it’s in my backyard, I perked up right away when I heard. Tom Corle and Robert Johnsen were in North Dakota a couple of weeks ago proposing a 2nd Gen facility to be built next to Dakota Spirit AgEnergy in Spiritwood, N.D. 

The proposed plant would utilize Inbicon conversion technology, producing 13.5 million gallons of ethanol and 90,000 tons of lignin annually from corn stover and straw. The group is looking for state funding to help with project planning.

It is fitting that the first Inbicon project in the U.S., should the Spiritwood project come to fruition, will be sited next to a power plant. Like many developers, the Denmark-based company has been working on its cellulosic ethanol technology for years. The process arose out of biomass research begun in the mid-1990s to solve issues with burning straw in power station boilers by parent company, DONG Energy A/S. As the company focused on producing clean lignin, it developed cellulosic ethanol technology as well.

The Inbicon biomass conversion technology combines hyrdrothermal pretreatment with enzymatic hydrolysis, converting biomass to sugars and clean lignin. 

The Minnesota-based power cooperative, Great River Energy, is the parent company of Dakota Spirit AgEnergy. Great River operates the CHP plant in the Spiritwood Industrial Park, generating electricity with coal and supplying both the adjacent corn ethanol plant and Cargill Malt with steam. Not only could Great River supply the cellulosic plant with steam, but I would anticipate the cellulosic plant could provide the power plant with biomass-based lignin for cofiring—a plus in the coming era of reduced emissions. .

There’s lots of hurdles to clear, of course, before the project gets the final greenlight, but it’s always exciting to hear of progress. It was nearly a decade ago when the original champions of an ethanol project at Spiritwood actually visited Denmark to see Inbicon's technology there. I recall reading a story from around then that said the project was being questioned because of concerns about cellulosic feedstock availablilty. Southeastern N.D. has a lot more acreage devoted to corn these days and the region is known for heavy straw residues following wheat crops, so I'd be surprised if that will still be considered a constraint.

It is also interesting to note the partners pulled together in New Energy Investors. Corle is familiar to many as a champion for Inbicon, cofounding  LeifMark in 2012 to work on North American project project development. New Energy chief operating officer Christian Morgen is a partner in Leifmark, which he joined after leaving DONG Energy, the Danish parent of Inbicon. He was general manager, international sales and marketing at Inbicon.

New Energy’s CEO Johnsen has deep roots in cellulosic development. He was CEO of Mascoma and before that, CEO of BC International Corp., which became Verenium. Since his Mascoma days, he’s led Promethegen Corp., a licensee of MIT technology using microbial conversion of carbohydrates to oil for advanced biofuels. Most recently, he was CEO of Primus Green Energy Inc., a gas-to-liquid fuel project using natural gas or biomass-based feedstocks.

New Energy cofounder and chairman Stephan Rogers was CEO of Qteros, another early developer of cellulosic ethanol technology using the Q Microbe discovered by Susan Leschine, microbiologists at the University of Massachusetts.

Other team members listed on New Energy Investor’s bring other connections. Judy Giordan, chief technology officer of New Energy, is cofounder of the Chemical Angels Network, past vice-president of Pepsi-Cola and International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. Bob Scaglione, project engineer at New Energy, is the founder of Advanced Process Solutions Inc., which has completed the Fel 2 engineering package for Inbicon. Partner Tom Horton is described as an “an energetic entrepreneur with a successful track record of building clean technology and renewable energy businesses.” 

It’s a high-powered team with more than one project in gestation, we understand. After several tough years for project developments, let us hope the tide will turn, and more like these will progress smoothly.