Earth Day stunner: POET sets 2022 cellulosic ethanol target of 3.5 billion gallons per year

POET CEO Jeff Broin, outlining POET's vision at the National Press Club

In Washington, POET outlined its plans to produce up to 3.5 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2022 in a presentation at the National Press Club.

CEO Jeff Broin confirmed that the POET will break ground on its 25 Mgy cellulosic ethanol facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa, by year end. The POET’s plan divides into three parts:

– 1 billion gallons through added capacity at POET’s existing network of 26 corn ethanol plants.

– 1.4 billion gallons through licensing of the POET technology to other existing corn ethanol producers.

– 1.1 billion gallons based on new feedstocks sourced through POET Biomass and through joint ventures, using wheat straw, switchgrass and municipal waste as feedstocks.

The proposed added capacity would account for 20 percent of the cellulosic ethanol required by 2022 in the Renewable Fuel Standard.

POET CEO Jeff Broin said that the US government had to provide the access to market and policy stability needed to attract the necessary financing for new facility construction. He confirmed that the company has filed an application for a federal loan guarantee. The company did not disclose details of its financing plan.

POET’s pilot-scale plant in Scotland, S.D. is already producing cellulosic ethanol at a rate of approximately 20,000 gallons per year.

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In January, Magellan Midstream Partners and POET announced a joint venture to construct an 1,800-mile pipeline that would transport ethanol from the Midwest to the US East Coast, terminating in Linden, New Jersey. The $4 billion project will require a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy and is expected to create up to 50,000 construction jobs and 12,000 permanent positions.

Last November, POET announced today that cost reductions achieved over the past year of operating their cellulosic ethanol pilot plant have “exceeded expectation – and the company is now projecting a per-gallon cost of $2.35, down from $4.13 at this time last year. The company said that it expects to reach its $2 per gallon goal by the time the Project LIBERTY 25 Mgy plant opens in Emmetsburg.

POET’s 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profile from the 2009-10 competition is here. Out of 1400+ eligible companies, POET placed #2 in the world.