Biomass-to-ethanol isn’t just a corny idea
I just wrote a rather lengthy entry on this topic but it was vaporized by some glitch in this program. I should know better — I feel like vomiting when I think of all that wasted time.
Anyway, here’s the short version: There’s a cool article on Wired.com you should read about how biomass-to-ethanol processing technologies represent a major threat to farmers in the U.S. cornbelt who are selling corn for generously subsidized ethanol production.
Biomass is essentially plant and crop residue, and the cellulose produced from this material can — thanks to innovations in processing – be turned into ethanol much more efficiently than corn. The raw material is also dramatically cheaper.
The article refers to Ottawa-based Iogen Corp., which is in the process of determining where to build one of the first — if not the first — commercial cellulose-ethanol processing plants. Initially it was thought they’d build it in one of two Canadian prairie provinces, but recently it looks like Idaho is a favourite. Hint: The company just opened an office there.
Royal Dutch Shell is apparently willing to invest $50 million (U.S.) in the project and Iogen is seeking another $200 million in government loan guarantees, according to a Feb. 21 Reuters report.
Ontario mandated ethanol-content requirements for gasoline last fall, and Ottawa has hinted that a national requirement could be on the way. But ultimately it seems that the country that wins will be the one that steps up with the necessary loan guarantees.
How much do you want to bet the Canadian government drops the ball on this one? Whatever the outcome, Iogen is a neat company with an innovative process that’s worth checking out.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
