After a long year in which cellulosic ethanol seemed to be fading from the renewable energy scene, there has been an uptick in activity this month.
The Department of Energy awarded grants totaling $564 million to 19 biorefineries (complete list). The final 19 were chosen from a group of 200 applicants. And this selectivity has many who received the grants hoping that the government's vote of confidence in their technologies will spur investor interest and help them raise additional funds. The CEOs of two companies whose joint project was successful in its bid for one of the grants said the process made this fact clear. According to Biofuels Digest, Eric Darmstaedter of ClearFuels said "I have been involved in these Funding Opportunity Announcements before, and this was different. There seems to be more of a sense of purpose at the Department of Energy (DOE) in terms of biomass." Hunt Ramsbottom, CEO of Rentech, added: "I don't see the White House or DOE backing down on biofuels. They are going to continue - it has to happen."
Eleven of these facilities use wood as all or part of their feedstock.
The news of government grants for biorefinery projects not gone unnoticed. There have been several announcements of new facilities this month. Renewable transport fuel developer, Evolution Resources, is in the process of sourcing a 60 million gallon wood biomass facility somewhere in the mid-South Delta region. The company is looking closely at closed pulp mills as a site. This strategy may signal the start of a trend. Bastrop, Louisiana, home to a closed International Paper pulp mill, will be featured in
Ethanol Producer magazine as a town in search of a biorefinery.
Suz-Anne Kinney
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
