Iogen Corporation has announced that the Brazilian ethanol giant, Raizen Energia Participacoes SA, has begun construction of a commercial biomass to ethanol facility on land adjacent to Raizen’s Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba, São Paulo.
The plant will incorporate advanced cellulosic biofuel technology developed through Iogen Energy, a joint venture between Iogen Corporation and Raizen which actually owns the technology and has granted comprehensive licenses to both companies. Iogen Corporation will also provide process designs and start-up and operational services to Raizen through the joint venture.
The $100 million plant will produce 40 million litres of cellulosic ethanol per year from sugarcane bagasse and straw. It is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Vasco Dias, CEO of Raizen, said that the after completion of this first facility his company plans to combine Iogen’s cellulosic ethanol with seven more Raizen sugar cane production operations in order to help meet the world’s growing demand for cleaner and more sustainable fuel.
The announcement follows a year of development, engineering and design work since Raizen first committed itself to the project in July 2012. An initial investment was subsequently provided to the project through the joint venture affiliate.
“The technology being deployed has undergone extensive testing and validation work” said Brian Foody, CEO of Iogen. “We have nine years of demonstration scale operating experience with cereal straw and corn stover, so by operating over 6 months with the Brazilian bagasse, we were able to identify differences, troubleshoot problems, collect information, and adapt designs for reliable low-cost operation.”
Funding for the project of BRL 207.7 million has been approved by the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES). With the technology now being commercialized in Brazil, Iogen is also planning to pursue a deployment programme in North America and Europe.
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