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October 1, 2008
Iogen Energy Corp. delivered more than 100,000 liters (26,000 gallons) of cellulosic ethanol to Royal Dutch Shell PLC, its commercial business partner, in late September. The fuel was the first part of Shell's initial order of cellulosic ethanol from Iogen, which totaled 180,000 liters (47,550 gallons). Iogen said Shell purchased the fuel "for upcoming fuel applications." Shell first gained an equity stake in Iogen in 2002, and in July 2008, Shell increased its shareholding in Iogen from slightly more than 26 percent to 50 percent.
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Ottawa, Canada - 15 July 2008
Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries (Shell) and Iogen Corporation today announced an extended commercial alliance to accelerate development and deployment of cellulosic ethanol.
The terms of the agreement include a significant investment by Shell in technology development with Iogen Energy Corporation, a jointly owned development company dedicated to advancing cellulosic ethanol. The arrangement will also see Shell increasing its shareholding in Iogen Energy Corporation from 26.3% to 50%. Shell first took an equity stake in 2002.
The collaboration with Iogen is a key part of Shell’s strategic investment and development programme in biofuels, particularly in 'next generation'biofuels using non-food feedstocks. The fuel is made from raw materials such as wheat straw and promises to reduce CO2 production by up to 90% compared to conventional gasoline.
Iogen’s first demonstration commercial plant opened in Ottawa in 2004. Shell is considering investing in a full-scale commercial cellulosic ethanol plant and is contributing to Iogen's detailed feasibility and design assessment work.
Commenting on Shell's increased investment, Dr. Graeme Sweeney, Shell Executive Vice President Future Fuels and CO2 said "This is a strong statement that Shell is committed to accelerating the development of cellulosic ethanol in collaboration with Iogen. We have come a long way together already on this particular technology pathway for sustainable biofuel and we will be working ever closer to meet the technical and commercial challenges facing larger scale production."
"We are excited to see this expanded partnership", said Brian Foody, Chief Executive Officer of Iogen Corporation. "This transaction sets the stage for successful large scale cellulosic ethanol production."
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June 2008
Two cellulosic-ethanol companies, Iogen and Alico, have canceled plans to build plants in the United States, according to Earth2Tech.
Iogen, which originally had planned to build a $350 million plant in Shelley, Idaho, instead chose to build a plant in Saskatchewan, Canada, according to the Canadian Press earlier this month. The Idaho plant had been expected to produce 18 million gallons of ethanol per year using agricultural residues including wheat straw, barley straw, corn stover, switchgrass and rice straw.
On the other hand, Alico this week said it is halting its ethanol efforts entirely. The company had planned to build a plant capable of churning out up to 13.9 million gallons of ethanol from yard, wood and vegetative wastes annually.
Both projects had qualified to negotiate for funding from the U.S. Department of Energy in February.
Biofuel cancellations aren't new, as a series of ethanol plants have been canceled in the last year.
But Rick Kment, a biofuels analyst for DTN Research, said the Iogen and Alico projects represent the first batch of cellulosic-ethanol plants to keel over.
Companies that are developing ways to make ethanol from nonfood materials such as wood chips, switchgrass and corncobs have tried to distinguish themselves from starch-based ethanol made of corn and sugarcane amid questions about the fuel's environmental benefits and impact on food prices.
But Kment said the news is a sign that investors are lumping both types of ethanol together.
"It doesn't really surprise me that we're starting to see some shaking out of [cellulosic ethanol]," he said. "One reason is because of the weak investor interest in ethanol produce. It doesn't matter [to them, at this point,] if it's corn-based or cellulosic-based."
The other reason for the pullbacks is that companies are reevaluating some of their anticipated production costs, particularly the costs for their feedstocks, and finding that they are likely to be higher than previously expected, he said.
Growing, harvesting and transporting the materials to the plants could be energy-intensive and expensive, given the rising cost of petroleum, he said.
"If they budgeted, let's say, $30 per ton of feedstock for a swtichgrass plant, and now it's at $50 to $60 per ton due to the cost of growing, harvesting and transporting the product, that really can significantly change the outlook of the industry, especially when you're in the first stages of planned development."
Still, the plants that are being canceled are still in the planning or early-development stages, he said.
"Now is a very easy time to back out and the only cost they have is the consulting and permitting costs, so they don't have a whole lot of construction or plant [equipment] involved in the venture at this point," he said.
The economy in general, as well as the uncertainty around the U.S. presidential election, isn't helping biofuels, Kment said.
The energy bill passed in December requires the United States to use 36 billion gallons of ethanol in 2022. With more than half coming from nonfood biofuel, it's always possible that standard could shift under a new presidential administration, he said.
But while more early-stage cancellations could well be on the way, Kment said the industry is still growing production overall.
"Right now, plants that are in production really seem to be focusing more on cash flow than on profitability, and a lot of them continue to be cash flowing," he said. "A lot of [established plants] are still doing relatively well because they really don't have a lot of debt. We're seeing a little backing off in [new] production, but we're still seeing a growth in production."
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June 2008
Iogen had planned to build a plant in Shelley, Idaho; construction was due to start this year and be completed by 2010. Guess there's been a change of plans. An Iogen spokesperson tells us that the company has "suspended" its cellulosic plant plans for Idaho to instead focus on its more advanced plant in Saskatchewan, Canada. The spokesperson says that at this time the company won't be pursuing those DOE funds, which according to the Canadian Press, where we first read of the suspension, included loan guarantees and grant money that was estimated at some $350 million.
The Canadian Press story also quotes one Corey McDaniel, a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, who said that Iogen suspended its plant in Idaho because the DOE didn't offer the company a bigger loan guarantee. Perhaps the DOE's lack of potential funding for Alico's planned plant was also a factor behind that company's decision. Many cleantech advocates have said that loan guarantees from the federal government could be the single most important factor in getting new, large-scale, renewable energy technology built in the U.S.
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March 20, 2007
Ottawa: The following is a statement by Iogen Executive Vice President Jeff Passmore, in response to Canada's Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's 2007 federal budget delivered today in the House of Commons.
"In announcing $500 million for largescale facilities producing next generation renewable fuels, this is a great budget for cellulose ethanol. The provisions outlined in the budget are a clear indication that the federal government is committed to the commercialization of cellulose ethanol in Canada. Iogen looks forward to working together with the Government of Canada and Shell Canada to build a cellulose ethanol industry that reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector, provides economic growth opportunities for farmers and increases energy diversity."
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Technology
Operates a demonstration scale facility to convert biomass to cellulose ethanol using enzymatic hydrolysis technology. Full scale commercial facilities are being planned. It is very likely they will annouce plans for an Idaho plant that will make ethanol from wheat straw.
Hardwood chips can be used with Iogen's technology, but not softwood. To be used with Iogen's cellulose ethanol process, a feedstock must have at least 60% carbohydrate content, and to remain cost effective, must be available in large quantities.
Iogen technology makes it economically feasible to convert biomass into cellulose ethanol using a combination of thermal, chemical and biochemical techniques. The yield of cellulose ethanol is more than 340 litres per tonne of fibre. The lignin in the plant fibre is used to drive the process by generating steam and electricity, thus eliminating the need for fossil CO2 sources such as coal or natural gas.
Technology Innovations:
Pretreatment -
Iogen developed an efficient pretreatment method to increase the surface area and "accessibility" of the plant fibre to enzymes. We achieve this through our modified steam explosion process. This improves ethanol yields, increases pretreatment efficiency, and reduces overall cost.
Enzyme Production -
Iogen has new, highly potent and efficient cellulase enzyme systems tailored to the specific pretreated feedstock. Iogen already has a worldwide business making enzymes for the pulp and paper, textiles and animal feed industries.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis -
Iogen developed reactor systems that feature high productivity and high conversion of cellulose to glucose. This is accomplished through separate hydrolysis and fermentation using a multi-stage hydrolysis process.
Ethanol Fermentation -
Iogen uses advanced microorganisms and fermentation systems that convert both C6 and C5 sugars into ethanol. The "beer" produced by fermentation is then distilled using conventional technology to produce cellulose ethanol for fuel grade applications.
Process Integration -
Large-scale process designs include energy efficient heat integration, water recycling, and co-product production that make the overall process efficient and economical. Iogen has successfully validated these improvements within its demonstration scale cellulose ethanol facility.
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