Special Report on Cellulosic Ethanol: POET pursues integration while, ZeaChem pursues yield as the race for CE commercialization heats up

In the US, POET’s cellulosic ethanol vision is integrated: cellulosic plants that use corn cobs that are waste material from cultivation of POET’s primary feedstock, corn.

POET’s $8 million pilot-scale plant is in Scotland, SD, producing 55 gallons per day, or 20,000 gallons per year. The company’s $200 million commercial-scale Project Liberty plant will open in Emmitsburg, IA in 2011. POET will add cellulosic capability ultimately to all of its current 26 plants with a rated capacity of 1.5 billion gallons. The company said that it spent $20 million in cellulosic ethanol R&D in 2008 in preparation for the launch of the Scotland cellulosic plant, which is integrated with an existing 9 Mgy corn ethanol plant at the location.

Also in the US, ZeaChem has made progress in recent months in the race for commercial-scale, by raising $34 million in Series B financing from Globespan Capital Partners, PrairieGold Venture Partners, MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, Firelake Capital and Valero Energy.  ZeaChem is developing a cellulose-based green fuels and chemicals biorefinery platform that converts poplar biomass into ethanol.

The unique advantage? ZeaChem’s process has produced 40 percent more ethanol per ton of biomass over any known competitor, according to management. The new funds will be used to build ZeaChem’s first cellulosic biorefinery; construction will commence in 2009.

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