ICM Inc. has announced that IGPC Ethanol Inc. of Ontario, Canada, has signed a letter of intent to be the first Canadian adopter of ICM’s Generation 1.5 technology. Today’s milestone announcement will enable IGPC Ethanol to produce corn fiber cellulosic ethanol.

ICM has devised a line of sight for corn and other grain-based ethanol plants to create staged, platform technologies that not only enhance a plant’s efficiencies and diversify co-product opportunities, but also serve as building blocks to advance toward the next technology. Each new stage of technology advancement can be cost-justified as each one is added. ICM’s Generation 1.5 technology introduces a cellulosic ethanol production capability by adding ICM’s Fiber Separation Technologyvbuilding block onto IGPC Ethanol’s current ICM Selective Milling Technology platform. Once the FST and SMT platforms are in place, the Generation 1.5vtechnology can be added. Development of ICM’s Generation 1.5 technology was funded, in part, by a U.S. DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office contract that ICM was awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

ICM CEO Dave Vander Griend said, “ICM is very excited to announce that IGPC Ethanol is the first Canadian Adopter plant of our Generation 1.5 technology. We appreciate the opportunity to continue working with IGPC Ethanol to meet their goals of diversifying their ethanol plant and improve their bottom line. Today’s announcement illustrates how IGPC Ethanol is leading the industry into producing corn fiber cellulosic ethanol.”

Jim Grey, CEO of IGPC Ethanol, said, “Through our previous collaboration with ICM, we believed it was important to continue down the path of obtaining their critical platform technologies that are necessary for making a sustained impact on agriculture and economic development within our region.”