Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Ethanol
Verenium ready for cellulosic ethanol plant in Louisiana

A demonstration plant in Louisiana is the latest entry in the cellulosic ethanol race. Verenium announced yesterday that the company is starting up a 1.4 million gallon-per-year plant in Jennings, La with the intended non-food feedstocks being stems and leaves. Verenium will use "specialty enzymes and Verenium's proprietary technology," the AP reports. By mid-2009, Verenium hopes to have a production plant up and running that can make 30 mgpy once the test plant proves that Verenium's cellulosic ethanol process is validated. Carlos Riva, Verenium's president and CEO, said in a statement that, "With this plant moving into operations, we are on the brink of commercialization, on the brink of success." We'll see.
[Source: Verenium, AP]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike Z 8:14PM (5/29/2008)
I smell something fishy. There was talk of a cellulosic plant in Jennings, La back in 1999 by BC International, which was renamed to Celunol Corp, which is now Verenium.
"In addition to its proposed California plants, BC International is currently completing financing to construct a 20 million-plus commercial bioethanol manufacturing facility in Jennings, LA, that will use sugar cane residue as a feedstock." --From 1999
Basically they have been spinning their wheels for a decade. I wonder if this is an investment scam.
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sensitive_man 10:44PM (5/29/2008)
Mike, agreed!
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