EdeniQ and Logos to break ground on cellulosic ethanol plant

In Visalia, California, US, EdeniQ and Logos Technologies are to begin building a corn-to-ethanol pilot plant in, funded partly by a $20 million (€14.2 million) federal Department of Energy (DoE) grant.

The companies will break ground on the facility on 19 May 2011, marked with a groundbreaking ceremony at 10am.

The pilot plant will be installed with EdeniQ's technology that converts non-food feedstocks into cellulosic ethanol. The company began developing its technology in 2006 and built a small-scale pilot plant in Visalia where it converted agricultural such including corn stalks, woodchips and switchgrass into the biofuel.

The biorefinery will feature tanks, pumps and a distillation tower.

Following the construction and commissioning of the plant, EdeniQ and Logos will test and refine the process to meet the demands of round-the-clock production.

The plant is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2012 and the ethanol produced onsite is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, compared to fossil-based fuels.

'The Central Valley is the ideal location for this research, since the ag industry produces the materials we can use to produce the next generation of liquid fuels,' says Scott Janssen, chief financial officer of EdeniQ. 'The goal is to be able to produce cellulosic ethanol from agricultural waste in very large quantities and reduce America's dependence on imported oil.'

EdeniQ has already invested $7 million in equipment at the Visalia site, and comprises 34 staff.

The DoE grant is under the Integrated Biorefinery Program, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).