Business & People

April 14, 2009

›The Iowa Power Fund Board has approved a $14.75 million contract between Poet LLC and the state of Iowa. The contract finalizes the partnership to develop a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa. Project LIBERTY (Launch of an Integrated Biorefinery with Ecosustainable and Renewable Technologies in the Year 2009) will transform an existing corn-based ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, into a facility that will have both corn-based and cellulosic ethanol technologies. The cellulosic ethanol production capacity will be 25 MMgy, according to Jim Sturdevant, director of Project LIBERTY. The project is scheduled to begin operation in 2011.

›GTL Resources PLC has reopened Illinois River Energy LLC in Rochelle, Ill., which was temporarily shut down due to structural damage in the corn receiving area. The cause of the damage is under investigation. According to GTL, structural supports were temporarily installed to keep the plant operating safely. The plant capacity is 50 MMgy and there are plans to increase that to 100 MMgy, which is its nameplate capacity.

›Renewable fuels retailer Propel Fuels recently announced the hiring of Matt Horton as chief executive officer. Previously, he worked with venture funds @Ventures and Garage Technology, where he led early-stage clean technology companies.

In addition, Propel Fuels moved its headquarters from Seattle to Sacramento, Calif., where it launched the first Clean Fuel Point pump, which will be part of a statewide network of low-carbon fueling stations.

›Growth Energy has announced the additions of former National Farmers Union President Tom Buis as chief executive officer, and national Democratic leader and four-star retired Army General Wesley Clark as co-chairman, joining Poet LLC Chief Executive Officer Jeff Broin at that position.

Growth Energy also released results of a study that is positive for midlevel ethanol blends. Conducted by faculty members at North Dakota State University in Fargo, N.D., the study found that increasing the baseline ethanol blend from E10 to E15 could create more than 136,000 new U.S. jobs while adding $24.4 billion per year into the economy.

›Cellulosic ethanol producer and specialty enzyme developer Verenium Corp., in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, stated that the company incurred a net loss of approximately $185.5 million in 2008 and that it expects to continue to incur losses in the foreseeable future.

However, the company plans to continue moving forward with its 36 MMgy commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Highlands County, Fla., which is estimated to cost $300 million. Petroleum giant BP Amoco PLC, a collaborator in the project, has committed to providing $22.5 million toward the project.

›W.J. Will Duensing retired as president and chief executive officer of Cereal Process Technologies LLC in March. He became president and chief executive officer in 2007, and led the completion of CPT's technology installation at Renew Energy LLC, a 130 MMgy ethanol plant in Jefferson, Wis. As an expert in corn chemistry and milling, he has published numerous articles on the topics, and previously served as the quality assurance and technical services director for Bunge North America's milling division. He will be replaced by Iowa Corn Processors President and CPT shareholder Robert Giguere.

›Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. announced in March that the company may need to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy if it can't obtain sufficient liquidity "in the very near term." In its annual 10-K form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said it expects to experience negative gross margins through the first quarter of 2009 as a result of fixed-price corn and natural gas contracts that are above current market prices. Aventine realized a net loss of $47.1 million in 2008 and a net income of $33.8 million in 2007. The company's Chief Financial Officer Ajay Sabherwal resigned in February.

›California-based sustainable chemical company Genomatica Inc. recently announced the development of a biomanufacturing process to produce methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) at existing corn-based ethanol plants. MEK, a common industrial solvent used in coatings and paint, can also be used as a processing tool for synthetic rubber and polyester resin products. In order to utilize Genomatica's technology, existing ethanol plants would require minor retrofits. Instead of yeast, Genomatica's process uses a microorganism that has been developed to convert sugars into MEK. Commercial production of MEK through this technology is expected to begin in 2011. To commercialize the process, Genomatica plans to license its technology to ethanol producers.

›Ceres Inc., which produces seed under the brand name Blade Energy Crops, recently released a new crop management guide to assist producers who are interested in learning more about growing switchgrass. The guide, titled "Planting and Managing Switchgrass as a Dedicated Energy Crop 2009," draws on the most recent data and experiences from the company's energy crop trialing network, and features information related to seed variety selection, field preparation and planting rates, weed control, and harvest. The 20-page reference guide can be downloaded for free at www.BladeEnergy.com.

›The current economic conditions have led Canadian cellulosic ethanol company Lignol Energy Corp. to end negotiations to form a joint venture with Suncor Energy Inc. subsidiaries Suncor Energy Products Inc. and Suncor Energy (USA) Inc. to develop an $80 million commercial-demonstration cellulosic ethanol plant in Grand Junction, Colo. The proposed plant was announced in October 2008 in conjunction with a $30 million grant from the U.S. DOE. Lignol cited the volatile energy prices, uncertainty in the capital markets and general market malaise as factors leading to its decision to suspend the project.

›Food, grain and energy product supplier CHS Inc. has added Dave Belseth to its renewable fuels marketing team. He has 16 years of experience in renewable fuels marketing, agricultural commodities processing and global business development. Belseth founded process engineering company Liberty Process Technologies LLC, which markets biodiesel and oil-refining technology for distillers dried grains. He also held management positions at Crown Iron Works Co., and was co-founder and vice president of Superior Process Technologies. At CHS, he will work with existing ethanol plant customers and focus on building new business operations.

›UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has formed an agreement with advanced gas separation systems developer Vaperma Inc. to offer energy efficiency and emissions reduction technology for ethanol dehydration. According to the agreement, Honeywell will market Vaperma's Siftek polymer membrane technology, which can be used to dewater ethanol streams to produce ethanol with a higher-than-99-percent-pure fuel-grade. Vaperma has partnered with Greenfield Ethanol Inc. and Dedini S/A Indústrias de Base to test the technology at operating ethanol plants.

›Nebraska-based cellulosic feedstock supplier Energy Grains Biomass LLC has signed a multi-year agreement to supply corn stover to NextStep Biofuels Inc., a Nebraska-based cellulosic ethanol development company. A NextStep Biofuels spokesman said Energy Grains Biomass will supply enough corn stover to meet the needs of a 40 MMgy plant. In January, NextStep Biofuels signed a 20-year feedstock procurement contract with The Price Cos., an Arkansas-based wood processing company. Under that contract, The Price Cos. will supply NextStep Biofuels with up to 500,000 tons of woody biomass annually.

›Oil company Royal Dutch Shell PLC has expanded its agreement with Redwood City, Calif.-based biocatalyst developer Codexis Inc. to further develop enzymes and microbes for the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol. Under the agreement, Codexis will work with Iogen Corp. to enhance the efficiency of the biocatalysts used in Iogen's process to produce ethanol from wheat straw. Iogen, a cellulosic ethanol producer, has an enzyme and ethanol manufacturing facility in Ottawa, Canada. Shell and Codexis will also continue their collaborative research in the U.S. and Hungary to investigate using biocatalysts to convert biomass directly into biofuels similar to petroleum fuels.

›ADF Engineering Inc., a renewable fuels engineering and consulting firm in Miamisburg, Ohio, has opened a branch office in Omaha, Neb., managed by Mario Ancona. He previously worked for Altra Inc., where he gained experience in project management, business development, consulting, engineering and design/build activities for the ethanol, corn milling and food industries. Ancona earned an industrial mechanical engineering degree at the Instituto Tecnológico de Mérida in Mexico.

›Montreal-based Enerkem Inc. announced the appointment of Jocelyn Auger as vice president and general counsel in February. Before joining Enerkem, he was a partner at Canadian law firm BCF LLP, serving as co-chairman of the business and technology practice group.

Enerkem, a developer and producer of next-generation biofuels and green chemicals, received a GoingGreen East Top 50 Private Company 2009 Award. The AlwaysOn editorial team presents the award to the top 50 companies that create new business opportunities in green technology. "The GoingGreen East 50 companies have demonstrated their tenacity even in the toughest economic conditions the technology world has ever encountered," said Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. "We applaud their success in pushing the boundaries of innovation, creating market opportunities and transforming the industry even in the earlier stages of their businesses."

›BBI International Inc. is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo by offering two free full-access passes to every ethanol facility in North America. The event is being held June 15-18 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Idle plants and projects listed on EPM's Ethanol Plant Construction List are also eligible for complimentary passes. Discounts will be available to producers registering more than two individuals. For information, visit www.fuelethanolworkshop.com.

In other FEW news, nominations for the High Octane Award, the peer-reviewed Award of Excellence and two $1,000 educational scholarships can be submitted online at www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/awards. The deadline is May 1.

›ERI Solutions Inc., a Colwich, Kan.-based risk management and insurance company tailored to the ethanol industry, has created an interactive safety chart. The OOPS chart, which is short for operational occurrences and plant safety, can be found on the company's Web site at www.erisolutions.com. The chart identifies more than 500 incidents at ethanol plants involving near misses, employee injuries, liability and property events, and locations within the plants, the jobs being performed, causes of the incidents and how the unsafe conditions were addressed. The company, formerly a division of ICM Inc., provides safety and insurance risk management services to more than 60 ethanol plants in the U.S. and Canada.

›PhibroChem Animal Health Corp. recently added Kent Holzer to its Ethanol Performance Group team. Holzer will manage field services and support PhibroChem's sales organization by advising on fermentation and antimicrobial issues. He previously worked as a plant manager at VeraSun Energy Corp. in Janesville, Minn. Jill Moline has been hired as senior fermentation specialist, joining PhibroChem from positions with VeraSun at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and in the VeraSun corporate office.

›Larry Peckous has joined California-based biotechnology company EdeniQ as vice president of sales. He is a 28-year veteran of the starch processing and biofuels industries. He previously held senior management positions focused on improving biorefining plant efficiencies and marketing, and implementing enzyme and fermentation technologies. Most recently, he was a principal scientist for enzyme developer Novozymes AS in China.

›Brazilian energy company Petrobras SA released a business plan in March that calls for the company to earmark $2.8 billion for biofuels over a four-year period. Approximately $1.92 billion will go toward ethanol in particular. The company's goal is to produce 1.9 billion liters (500 million gallons) for the foreign market and 1.8 billion liters (480 million gallons) for the domestic market by 2013. Petrobras also expects to partner with a foreign company this year to build four ethanol plants. The company may acquire other ethanol plants to expand its capacity and is looking at a plant in Colombia. The company also has plans to develop second-generation technologies based on residual biomass feedstocks.

›California-based BlueFire Ethanol Inc. announced a collaboration with William Farone, an original co-founder of the Arkenol process, to continue the advancement of the technology, which uses a concentrated acid hydrolysis pathway to convert cellulosic waste materials into ethanol. The Arkenol process was first patented in 1997, and BlueFire holds the North American license. According to the agreement, BlueFire will conduct development work at Applied Power Concepts Inc., a company owned by Farone in Anaheim, Calif.

BlueFire will utilize the Arkenol process at its 3.7 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant being constructed near Lancaster, Calif. In early March, BlueFire said it had secured 28 individual air permits from the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District, which it needs to proceed with construction.

›Range Fuels Inc. has selected Emerson Process Management to be the main automation contractor for its cellulosic ethanol plant under construction in Soperton, Ga. Emerson is also the automation contractor for Range Fuels' pilot plant in Denver, which has been operating since early 2008. Emerson will assess risks and define protocol, engineering and automation standards to lower risks, reduce downtime and efficiently meet production goals.

In other news, Emerson held an Alternative Fuels/BioRefinery Summit March 19 in Denver and in April in Atlanta. It plans to host another summit in May in Houston.

›Cellulosic ethanol developer KL Energy Corp. recently appointed a new chief executive officer, received $4 million in investments and announced plans for a new project in Canada. Steve Corcoran, previously KL Energy's vice president of operations, is now chief executive officer. According to Corcoran, the $4 million from Niton Capital, The Green Fund, Warcoing Sucre SA and Pierre de Boeck will allow the company to complete the final implementation of its technology. KL Energy operates Western Biomass Energy, a cellulosic ethanol pilot plant in Upton, Wyo. It will also provide its technology to Prairie Green Renewable Energy Inc., a 5 MMgy to 10 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant near Hudson Bay in northeastern Saskatchewan. "It will convert woody biomass to cellulose, and Prairie Green Renewable Energy is working with the Canadian government for funding to advance that project," Corcoran said. The project is slated to begin construction in the third or fourth quarter of 2009.

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