December 2011 Archives

Cereplast tightens European credit

By Doris de Guzman on December 29, 2011 2:27 PM
In the renewable chemicals and bioplastic sectors, Europe has always been seen as the forefront of market commercialization given the region's strict regulatory efforts that opens the way for more carbon emission-reducing chemicals and materials.
 

However, the growing Eurozone crisis, heightened business uncertainty and inventory trimming in Europe might lessen enthusiasm for any renewable chemical investments and commercialization in the region. In fact, US bioplastic company Cereplast stated on Tuesday that it has already tightened customer credit terms  amid a worsening economic outlook in Europe.

While Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer stated that it remains confident it will be able to collect all outstanding receivables, it has halted all shipments to customers with outstanding invoices over 150 days. The company is also implementing new payment terms such as requiring advanced payments, letters of credit or bank guarantees.

Scheer said it has personally met with senior level executives of all of its customers with overdue invoices over the last two months. In its quarterly filing, Cereplast disclosed that it has one large European customer that accounted for 36% (or $7.6m) of the company's outstanding receivables, and another large European customer accounted for 29% (or $6.1m) of their receivables.

This is not good news for a company who is still trying to establish its business worldwide. But compared to other renewable chemical companies out there, at least Cereplast has revenues (the green blog always has silver linings somewhere..).

Cereplast management said it expects to be paid between December 2011 and February 2012.

"While Europe's macroeconomic conditions can be blamed for much of what we experienced, we had to adjust our payment terms to customers which will reduce the risk of outstanding balances becoming extended past our normal acceptable period." - Scheer
The chemical industry in general has been very worried about Europe and economists at American Chemistry Council (ACC) even repeatedly warned that the situation in the Eurozone poses a big risk for the US economic recovery (Disclaimer: I stole this information from subscription-based ICIS News).

European chemical trade group Cefic also warned that year-on-year growth in European chemicals output in 2012 will be weaker at 1.5% compared to 2% in 2011. Cefic economists initially estimated 2011 year-on-year growth at 4.5% last June. Forecasters now expect 2012 EU GDP growth at 1% compared to initial prediction of 1.8% in June.

Cefic President Giorgio Squinzi said: "The continuing debt crises in the eurozone and high US government debt level have undermined macroeconomic sentiment since the summer. 
"Companies are hoarding cash. The uptrend in oil prices has halted, reducing the incentive to buy ahead. Added to this is increased business uncertainty, which is encouraging reductions in inventories. Lower output growth is the inevitable result."


Beyond Solar: BP exits business

By Doris de Guzman on December 29, 2011 1:15 AM
It has been more than a year when the green blog reported about the closing of BP Solar's manufacturing facility in Maryland, US.

According to several news reports last week, BP finally admitted that it can't handle the solar market and told its staff of 100 employees worldwide that it will fold its solar business after  being in the market for 40 years.

According to Financial Times, BP Solar CEO Mike Petrucci wrote an internal email to staff last week explaining that it had finally realized it can't many anymore money from solar given the rapidly expanding low-cost solar panel manufacture in China.

According to IMS Research analyst Sam Wilkinson in his blog, average photovoltaic (PV) module price now are 44% lower compared to a year ago. Average gross margins are now in the single digits and most suppliers are making net losses on their operations. PV module manufacturing capacity worldwide is said to have hit 50 GW this year despite demand just reaching 24 GW.

"Clear winners in 2011 have been large pure-play Chinese suppliers, whose lower cost structure and highly aggressive pricing has allowed them gain market share throughout the year. Consequently, 4 of the world's 5 largest suppliers of PV modules are now Chinese." - IMS Research
BP started scaling back its solar operations and had reduced its staff by about 1,650 positions since 2008. It now plans to sell its stakes in remaining key projects that it has developed with local partners such as a 32 MW solar plant in the grounds of the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory in conjunction with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA).







Get Microsoft Silverlight The Long Island Solar Farm (LISF) project, owned by BP Solar and Met Life, and funded by LIPA, has been completed and commissioned in November (see video). LIPA has not yet announced what will happen to the $298m project, which ratepayers have footed the bill (glad I don't live in Long Island or I'll be a little pissed about it!).

Financial Times also cited another 150MW project in Australia, which was billed as the country's first utility-scale solar power station. According to a Sydney Morning Herald article, BP is said to be sticking for now to the proposed $923m Mooree solar project although the project consortium (which has received commitments of close to $400m in government funding) has yet to sign power-supply agreements needed to advance the project (deadline was supposed to be December 15).

The Australian project is expected to start construction in the second half of 2012, later than previously estimated.

In India, Tata BP Solar, the company's JV with Tata Power, announced last week that it has not been impacted by BP's decision to exit the solar business. Tata Power said yesterday that is has agreed to buy BP's 51% stake in the JV for an undisclosed fee. Tata BP Solar has a 125MW solar module manufacturing capacity.

"The size of the solar market in India will go up to anywhere between 800MW to 1,200MW by the year 2014-2015." - Tata Power


Coskata looking at bio-propylene

By Doris de Guzman on December 28, 2011 3:00 PM

The blog normally does not cover IPOs (initial public offerings) filed by biofuel companies given that there are so many biofuel companies out there. But the one thing that caught the green blog's attention in their $100m IPO announcement is that the company defined itself as a technology leader in renewable fuels and bio-based chemicals.

Could it be that Coskata is expanding its expertise beyond cellulosic ethanol? Hence, we delve into their S-1 registration filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The company did say that it is initially focusing on producing cellulosic ethanol and expected to begin construction of its first "Flagship" commercial-scale facility in Boligee, Alabama, next year. Phase 1 capacity of Flagship is 16m gal/year at an unsubsidized cash operating cost of less than $1.5/gal (assuming feedstock cost of $64/bone dry ton of softwood). According to Coskata, market price for ethanol as of December 9 was $2.71/gal.

Completion of Phase 1 is expected by 2013. Total production capacity from Flagship is expected to be 78m gal/year (by 2015) using woodchips and woodwaste for feedstock.

We believe we will be one of the first companies in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol at commercial-scale using a syngas fermentation process, qualifying us for both advanced biofuel and cellulosic biofuel credits under RFS2. We will selectively target international markets based on feedstock availability, strong market demand and local government support. - Coskata
Coskata has been running its demonstration facility dubbed "Lighthouse" in Madison, Pennsylvania, for over 15,000 hours until October. Lighthouse operations is expected to resume next year. I am not sure how much cellulosic ethanol was produced in that run time but the company said the product meets ASTM International standards although their technology has not been tested by a broad range of potential licensees or joint venture partners.

As usual, like any other startup renewable chemical companies (and advanced biofuels companies), Coskata has not yet generated any significant revenue. The company expects to continue to incur operating losses throughout at least 2013. Coskata also expects its $87.9m Phase 1 Flagship project will be financed with a combination of debt, cash on hand and a portion coming from the IPO.

CHEMICAL POTENTIAL
Several advanced biofuel startups have been diversifying into the bio-based chemicals sector given the higher potential profits for chemicals vs biofuel. Most of all, it is quicker (but not easier) to get into the chemicals sector especially if you're looking into drop-ins as long as you have partners who know the chemical industry's well-oiled system. Cases in point are Codexis, Amyris, Gevo, Solazyme, Aemetis (formerly AE Biofuels), Virent, Zeachem and LanzaTech.

Now, this is the first time that the blog has heard Coskata planning to enter the bio-based chemicals market although it is easy for them to go into the ethylene business where ethanol can be easily converted into ethylene. But who would want to go into ethylene especially in the US where abundant shale gas is in the forefront of chemical discussions these days?

According to the company's S-1 report, Coskata reportedly possessed a propanol production technology - and combined with alcohol dehydration technology, they can produce propylene. The company has  partnered with Total Petrochemicals (since December 2010) and IFP Energies Nouvelles & Axens on this research.

Coskata and Total have been collaborating on the development of microorganisms and syngas fermentation platform to produce propanol from biomass, waste and [or] fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Total and IFP Energies together have been developing a new process to dehydrate alcohol into alkenes (such as propanol to propylene), which can then be linked to Coskata's syngas fermentation platform producing propanol.

"We believe this will result in the commercial-scale deployment of an end-to-end process to competitively produce propylene, allowing us and our future licensees and joint venture partners to access a large and fast growing market for a key petrochemical intermediate." - Coskata
In terms of development and commercialization timeline for their bio-propylene, Total and Coskata's partnership has a term of 20 years although could be terminated early upon mutual agreement. First phase of the partnership is to develop the microorganism which started in early 2011. Second phase of the program will involve scale-up of the strains at a demo plant using both biomass-derived syngas and syngas from natural gas. Final phase will be the development of engineering package and cost estimate for the process.

Upon successful collaboration, the companies expect to have joint ownership of the propanol production technology, Coskata owning exclusive licensing rights, and preferential access by Total Petrochemicals to use the technology for its own propylene production.

Coskata noted that on-purpose propylene production has been growing significantly given the static production of byproduct propene from oil refining and natural gas processing especially in the US and European markets.

Coskata cited global propylene consumption (via SRI Consulting) is expected to grow at an average 5%/year over the next 5 years. Polypropylene account for two-thirds of global propylene consumption as per ICIS data.

Aside from ethylene and propylene, Coskata expects over time to expand its chemicals platform to producing four, five and six carbon chain chemicals. The company said it has already demonstrated in a laboratory setting their production of butanol, butanediol, hexanol, organic acids and certain fatty acids.

By the way, Coskata also has a collaboration deal with Japanese chemical company Sumitomo although it did not disclosed what particular project they are working on. The companies said they are collaborating to develop commercial-scale projects that will be deployed in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and other Asian countries.  Sumitomo will screen local partners, conduct feasibility studies and establish joint venture entities to develop, own and operate plants.

We are in discussions to license our technology platform to one project identified through our collaboration with Sumitomo. This agreement will expire in October 2013, but will automatically extend for additional one-year terms unless one of the parties provides notice of its intention to terminate the relationship. - Coskata
BACKGROUND
Coskata based in Warrenville, IL, was formed in July 2006 by GreatPoint Ventures. In terms of technology, Coskata claimed that it is using a novel synthesis gas fermentation platform using combined biochemical and thermochemical methods (they called it Hybrid Biothermal process).

The company's investors include Khosla ventures, General Motors, Total, Blackstone Group and Sumitomo, among others.


Growth jumps for green chemicals

By Doris de Guzman on December 28, 2011 11:19 AM
I hope everybody had a great holiday weekend and for those who are still on vacation (like me!!), enjoy the brief rest.
 

The blog is working on a list of top posts of 2011 but it might take awhile given that the blog had almost 200 posts to look into. In the meantime, let's look at the longer-term future of the industry.

The blog had gathered several consulting reports about the bio-based chemicals sector and it seems all are in agreement that this industry will remain strong and that no bubble bursting are seen on the short-to-mid-term horizon (we hope so!)

According to Lux Research's recent report on bio-based chemicals and materials, this industry is expected to grow to $19.7bn in 2016 as its global capacity jumps 140%. Lux Research said that it has listed down 151 global facilities and their intended operational dates, products and capacities. These capacities are expected to climb to 9.2m tons in the next five years.

Some of Lux Research's key findings include:

  • Bioplastics will slow down in terms of expansion though capacity is still expected to grow 57% from 2011 to 2016. From 2006 to 2011, bioplastics have experienced explosive growth of 1,500% to a current aggregate capacity of 470,000 tons, and a 10.9% share of all bio-based materials.

  • Cellulose polymers and starch-based plastics remain dominant but their share of total capacity will slide from 45% in 2011 to 21% in 2016. Cellulose polymers and starch-derived materials still rule because they are durable, strong and easily biodegradable: They've been widely used in high-performance plastic coatings, buttons and yarns, and even early LEGO bricks.

  • By 2016, there will be consolidation - both within sectors of bio-based materials manufacturing, and regionally, as leaders buy up technologies and access to feedstock. Momentum derived from existing capacity -- ethanol from sugarcane ethanol being converted to ethylene and propylene, for instance -- will influence regional specialization.
Pike Research, meanwhile, reported that the use of green chemistry is expected to save the chemical industry $65.5bn by 2020. Pike Research included in their definition of green chemistry pathways and industrial activities such as waste minimization in the chemical production process, replacement of existing products with less toxic alternatives, and the shift to renewable, non-petroleum based feedstocks.

Green chemistry markets, according to Pike Research, represents a market opportunity of $2.8bn in 2011 reaching to $98.5bn by 2020. By 2020, Pike Research expects that the total chemical industry will expand to $5.3 trillion in annual revenues.

In July, BCC Research reported the global market for green technologies is expected to be worth $312bn in 2015 from $200bn in 2010, showing a growth rate of 9.2%/year. The market research firm broke down green technologies into nine segments - combined heat and power, windows, insulation, hybrid vehicles, waste-to-energy, lighting, ground-source heat pumps, biomass and smart meters.

According to BCC Research, green technology is often referred to as "energy efficiency defined as an energy converting device undergoing a technological change that enables it to provide the same service while using less energy."


[Photo from akearayvette.deviantart.com]


More Coca-Cola announcement tidbits

By Doris de Guzman on December 22, 2011 5:25 PM

Here are some of  "other" interesting information gathered from the Coca-Cola announcement last week about their plans for a 100% plant-based bottle packaging.

For those who are not familiar with PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, the resin is made from 30% MEG (monoethylene glycol) and 70% PTA  (purified terephthalic acid) by weight. Coca-Cola's PlantBottle packaging is currently made with sugar-based MEG and petroleum-based PTA.

Coca-Cola's VP of Commercial Product Supply Rick Frazier noted that the company had looked at over 30 technology companies in the past two years for renewable-based alternatives to PTA and settled with the three chosen ones -- Gevo, Avantium and Virent.  The three companies will work independently to develop their own bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based PTA but within the "guard rails" of Coca-Cola's sustainable packaging strategies and standards.

"We recognized we could gain speed in identifying the leading biotech companies with the biggest potential commercial solutions to develop 100% plant-based technology and accelerate these through funding versus trying to do it alone." - Frazier
When asked about Coca-Cola's plans for its bio-MEG supply since the company currently has only one source for its PlantBottle packaging, Frazier said: 

"Thank you, Doris, for reminding me that I have a lot more work ahead of me. But to put it in perspective, it's part of our overall strategy. And now we're talking about the PTA portion of the company's offer and then let's just talk a little bit about the bio-MEG. Today, there is only one source. We are in negotiations and developing our overall supply chain that we can have multiple sources of supplier as part of that process. So that's as much as I can give you from an information standpoint, but stay tuned." - Frazier
 Frazier actually noted to the green blogger on the sidelines of the conference to wait within 6 months to a year for further announcement on bio-MEG. At least we have a time frame, right? =)

Somebody asked about the time frame for the commercialization of Coke's 100% plant-based bottle and the costs involved with the project. Coca-Cola confirmed (as it has before) that it is paying a premiun for the bio-MEG component. Frazier pointed out that the premium is worth the cost when being able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions an equivalent to taking about 18,000 cars off the road or carbon emissions of about 2m gallons of gas.

"As we improve our supply chain, we will continue to reduce that premium that we pay today and believe it will be at equivalent prices, or potentially better, as we go forth and develop our strategy on PlantBottle." - Frazier
With regards to exact commercialization timing for a 100% plant-based bottle, Frazier noted that it will be up to the three companies as they go down the path for their own commercialization.

"We can probably do it a lot sooner than 2020, maybe 2015.." - Frazier
The blog posed a question to Avantium regarding how their novel resin PEF (polyethylene furanoate) can fit into the existing PET bottle infrastructure compared to drop in solutions such as what Gevo (bioisobutanol-based paraxylene converted to PTA) and Virent (bio-PX converted to PTA) are offering. Avantium is promoting PEF as an alternative to PET bottle by combining bio-MEG with Avantium's platform chemical 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) marketed under the brand name YXY (pronounced ~ ixy).

According to Avantium CEO Tom van Aken, most of their PEF plastic process (such as oxidation, polymerization step and bulk of blow molding) can be done in existing PET insulations.

"We really want to make sure that we have a very good usage of existing production facilities and supply chains. When it comes to recycling, we want to make sure that PEF can be fully recycled and that is also going to be part of the partnership with The Coca-Cola Company to demonstrate the recycling of PEF once it's commercialized." - Van Aken
As a closing remark for this post, here is an article from the New York Times about PepsiCo's response to the Coca-Cola announcement. According to PepsiCo's Denise Lefebvre, VP for global beverage packaging, PepsiCo is on schedule to conduct a test run next year that will involved producing 200,000 bottles made from 100% plant-based materials.

PepsiCo is said to be also following the same path as Coca-Cola teaming up with companies that are developing alternative PTA component for a 100% bio-based PET bottle.  PepsiCo declined to identify the partners.

The article also noted that Coca-Cola expects two additional bio-MEG production facilities to begin production next year. The blog definitely needs to find out who those are...



Semi-monthly news roundup

By Doris de Guzman on December 22, 2011 1:51 PM

Finals has made me a grumpy green blogger yesterday but I just found out that I passed the semester course so all is well. In the meantime, I will try to do my best to post as much as I can before the year is out as I am starting my winter school program on the first week of January.

For starters, here are some of our recent news most from last week. I saw that Coskata has also filed an IPO last week so we will look into that in another post. Speaking of financing, watch out for my Renewable Chemicals investments 2012 outlook coming soon in January 2 on ICIS Chemical Business publication.

OriginOil forms biorefinery JV
Algae extraction developer, OriginOil, has co-founded a new joint venture (JV), to develop biorefineries serving U.S. and NATO military requirements for alternative fuels. The JV, Future Energy Solutions Unlimited, Inc. (FES), with its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Alternate Energy Systems Pty Ltd (AES), plans to carry out bankable feasibility studies supporting project development and project delivery for diversified biofuel refining centers in strategic locations around the world. The Energime Group of Companies has given preliminary commitments to provide $1.5m in matching funds to AES and $3m to FES. The investments, to be finalized in early 2012, are intended to fund the planned bankable feasibility studies, leading to a key role for Energime in designing, building, operating and owning these refineries.

DuPont launches Sorona in India
DuPont will launch its renewable-based Sorona fibers for the Indian textile market. The business is organizing seminars in New Delhi and Bangalore to focus on applications developed by Indian mills and textiles companies. Partner mills, featuring Sorona® based products, including Arvind, Raymond UCO, KG Denim, Vardhman, Banswara Syntex, Suditi, Raymond Zambaiti, Precot Meridian and JCT.

Enerkem raises C$15m
Canadian waste-to-biofuels and chemicals company Enerkem has raised C$15m ($14.7m) coming from Waste Management and EB Investments. Enerkem raised total financing of C$103m in 2011. Enerkem is currently building a full-scale commercial facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

B&W bags DOE's CO2 scrubbing grant
The Babcock & Wilcox Company's subsidiary B&W Power Generation Group has been selected to receive a $2.8m grant from the US Department of Energy to study formulations to improve the performance of its Regenerable Solvent Absorption Technology (RSAT) process solvent used to capture carbon dioxide from coal-powered plants. Project participants also include the University of Cincinnati and FirstEnergy Corp., which will act in an advisory role to provide input from a utility operator's perspective.

NextSteppe raises $14m for bio-feedstock
NextSteppe, a feedstock solutions provider for biofuel and biobased products industries, has raised $14m it its second round of funding led by venture capital firm Braemar Energy Ventures. The company will use the proceeds to scale up its sweet sorghum, high biomass sorghum and switchgrass breeding programs, and to advance its first products toward commercialization.

Gevo bags new isobutanol patent
Gevo has received patent No. 8,017,358, covering additional "Methods of Increasing Dihydroxy Acid Dehydratase (DHAD) Activity to Improve Production of Fuels, Chemicals, and Amino Acids" from the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") on another aspect of its yeast technology that enables the low-cost, high-yield production of biobased isobutanol.

Dow to expand cellulose ether
Dow Chemical is planning to expand its cellulosic ether grades such as hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose (HEMC), and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) particularly for construction grade applications focusing on the Asia Pacific region. Global demand for cellulosics in the construction industry grew nearly 15% in the past year alone, outstripping global supply. In the building and construction industry, cellulosic products act as thickening agents in a variety of dry mix applications.

Neste Oil's microbial pilot plant
Neste Oil is planning to build an €8m ($10.4m) pilot plant to produce waste-based microbial oil at its Porvoo refinery in Kilpilahti industrial area, Finland. The facility is expected to be completed in the second half of year 2012. It will be the first pilot plant in Europe designed to produce microbial oil for use in manufacturing renewable fuel from waste-based raw materials.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
The Indian authorities have warned of a rising death toll in West Bengal state after at least 102 people died from consuming methanol-tainted alcohol.

US biofuels firm Bio Architecture Lab (BAL) has broken ground on a pilot facility in Chile to further develop its technology to make biofuels from seaweed. BAL's technology can metabolise the sugars in seaweed into fermentable sugars competitive with conventional sugar sources. The company said it has already managed to produce ethanol and isobutanol from seaweed.

BDI BioEnergy International will build a multi-feedstock BioGas plant in northern France, which will produce almost 4.2m normal cubic meters of biogas and 2.1 megawatts of electricity per year. BDI expects construction of the plant to be completed some time in 2012.


Finals week

By Doris de Guzman on December 17, 2011 6:29 PM
Lights off for the blog for now as the green blogger prepares for final exams on Tuesday. Postings will be back Wednesday. I can't even shop this weekend. Darn!

Coca-Cola picks Gevo, Virent, Avantium

By Doris de Guzman on December 15, 2011 5:16 PM

So we finally got an announcement from Coca-Cola this morning about their plans for a fully renewable-based PlantBottle packaging and picked Virent, Gevo, Avantium as its new partners.


If I have superpowers, I could have predicted those three companies based on my June 15 posting on bio-PET update (check my headline very carefully). It's great to hear that these companies and the renewable chemicals industry in general are going to soon benefit on Coca-Cola's bioplastic initiative.

I will post more interesting tidbits about the Coca-Cola announcement later this week but in the meantime, here is my article that I lifted on ICIS News  -- just don't tell my boss I cut and paste it as this is supposed to be under subscription ;-)

---------------------------------

US Coca-Cola partners with Gevo, Virent, Avantium on bio-PET 
     15 December 2011 21:19  [Source: ICIS news]

NEW YORK (ICIS)--Renewable chemical technology firms Gevo, Virent and Avantium will help US beverage firm Coca-Cola develop a 100% plant-based polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin for its PlantBottle packaging, a Coca-Cola official said in a press conference on Thursday. 
Coca-Cola's PlantBottle packaging currently contains 30% sugar-based monoethylene glycol (MEG), while the 70% purified terephthalic acid (PTA) component is still made from petroleum-based paraxylene (PX). 
The company has produced more than 10bn PlantBottle packaging items since its introduction at the end of 2009, said Rick Frazier, vice president of Coca-Cola's commercial product supply. 
Coca-Cola said the three companies will develop a renewable-based material for the PTA component of PlantBottle. 
"While the technology to make bio-based materials in a lab has been available for years, we believe Virent, Gevo and Avantium possess technologies that have high potential for creating them on a global commercial scale within the next few years," said Frazier. 
Frazier did not disclose a timeframe for when they will commercialise 100% plant-based PlantBottlepackaging. Coca-Cola previously indicated plans to have a commercially available 100% plant-based PET bottle by 2016. 
"It will be up to our three partners to have a timeframe in order to commercialise a 100% renewable-basedPlantBottle," said Frazier. 
He added: "Our partners will work independently on their own technologies but all materials will be developed in line with Coca-Cola guidelines and industry recycling requirements." 
US-based Gevo is currently working on bio-isobutanol-based PX and plans to begin pilot production in 2012 at a Silsbee, Texas, facility owned by specialty chemical firm South Hampton Resources. Gevo is targeting commercial production of its bio-PX by 2014. 
Gevo has been working with Japanese chemical firm Toray on bio-PX production. Toray will not be involved in the Coca-Cola PlantBottle development, a company official said on the sidelines of the press conference. 
US-based Virent is developing sugar-based PX and targets early 2015 for the startup of its first full-scale commercial plant. Capacity and location of the plant will depend on their partners' requirements on how much bio-PX quantities are needed and the feedstock of choice, a company official said. 
Most of the PX produced from Virent's first plant will be allocated for purchase by Coca-Cola's supply chain partners for the company's PlantBottle, Virent said in a statement. Virent will reserve the remainder of their bio-PX, trademarked BioFormPX, for market development in complementary PET and polyester applications. 
Virent is currently running a 10,000 gal/year (38,000 litre/year) demonstration plant in Madison, Wisconsin, which uses various feedstock such as sugarcane, corn and woody biomass. 
The Netherlands-based Avantium is working on a carbohydrate-based polymer called polyethylene furanoate (PEF), which the company said can be an alternative to PET. PEF can be derived from any biomass feedstock such as sugarcane, agricultural residues, plants and grains, said Avantium CEO Tom van Aken. 
"We are working with Coca-Cola to make sure our polymer will comply with existing PET manufacture and recycling infrastructure," said Van Aken. 
Avantium started up its PEF pilot plant on 8 December at the Chemelot site in Geleen, The Netherlands. The company plans to initiate commercial production of PEF within three to four years.  
By: Doris de Guzman
-------------------------------------------------

Coca-Cola to announce PlantBottle partners

By Doris de Guzman on December 14, 2011 12:01 AM

So I got home tonight from school (after an interesting exam) and guess what I found on my email? An invitation for Coca-Cola's announcement on Thursday about a partnership announcement regarding their next-generation PlantBottle packaging.

Of course I am super excited and hoping to get a slot for an interview with somebody from the press conference. There were no details about it but these words on the invitation stand out to me: Next-Generation and partner companies.

So the blog is assuming here that they will talk about not only possible multiple suppliers on the PlantBottle bio-PET supply chain [remember polyethylene terephthalate plastic is made of 30% monoethylene glycol (MEG) and 70% terephthalic acid (TPA) by weight] but Coca-Cola will probably announce which renewable chemical companies will bag the possibility of supplying the TPA component since the current renewable-based component of PlantBottle packaging comes only from sugar-based MEG.

For a background on Coca-Cola's PlantBottle packaging strategy, here's a recent article I wrote on ICIS Chemical Business focusing on my interview with Scott Vitters, general manager for the PlantBottle Packaging platform.

Now in my interview with Mr. Vitters, he mentioned that there was only one biobased-MEG producer at this time (sources indicated it is India Glycols) and that one of the more important strategy for the company is to improve this supply chain given that Coca-Cola's goal by 2020 is to have 100% of their PET bottles made with at least 30% PlantBottle packaging.

Take note, their goal by 2020 is not to have all of their PET bottles made with 100% bio-content so the company is still prudent with regards to the bio-TPA supply part, which made sense given that commercialization talks for bio-TPA supply chain such as bio-paraxylene will probably not be realized until 2016. But who knows, maybe this goal will change as bio-TPA commercialization developments are definitely on high gear.

On the bio-TPA part, bioplastic expert Jim Lunt mentioned the possibilities of companies involved in its development such as Gevo, Anellotech, Draths (now owned by Amyris), Genomatica, Honeywell's UOP, Global Bioenergies, Sabic, Virent and Chemtex.

As blog followers have probably read before, Gevo is currently working with Toray on 100% renewable-based PET and recently announced successful lab-scale production of the chemical. The bio-TPA chain starts with Gevo's sugar-based isobutanol being converted into paraxylene (PX), which is the building block for terepthalic acid. Other bio-isobutanol players on the blog's radar include France-based Global Bioenergies, UK-based Butalco and DuPont's bio-isobutanol business Butamax.

With regards to producing direct bio-based PX, companies that the blog has encountered so far included Virent and Anellotech, while Genomatica and Draths' technologies have been known to target bio-PX via muconic acid.

I'm not sure about UOP and Sabic's current developments but the green blog does know that Chemtex - the engineering and technology business of Italian PET manufacturer Mossi & Ghisolfi Group - has its own technology in producing cellulosic-based biofuel and chemicals. I'm inclined to vote M&G as a strong candidate for a Coca-Cola partner given that its newly formed JV company with TPG called BETA RENEWABLES has the capability to produce cellulosic ethanol (next generation bio-MEG anyone?) and TPG has stakes in both Genomatica and Amyris. An icing to the cake is M&G's strong position in the global PET market.

On the bio-MEG part, there had been talks recently about traditional chemical companies such as Brazil-based Oxiteno and Braskem as well as US-based Dow Chemical looking at the market opportunity especially as bio-PET seems to be the fastest growing bioplastic product right now, according to analysts. As I've mentioned in a previous post about bio-PET, Toyota Tsusho's joint venture company Greencol Taiwan is supposed to be starting its 100,000 tonne/year bio-MEG plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, by the end of this year.

Who knows, maybe we'll be hearing most of these companies mentioned on Thursday.

Here's a flowchart that I posted in June (with some slight updates) on possible bio-PET supply chain players:







More Biofuel News

By Doris de Guzman on December 13, 2011 4:08 PM
Trying to clean up my draft box. So far I have 83 posts waiting to come out (geez!). Here are the rest of recent biofuel news:
 

Mascoma, Valero in cellulosic ethanol JV
Mascoma has entered a joint venture deal with oil firm Valero Energy to develop and operate a 20m gal/year (expandable to 40m gal/year) cellulosic ethanol plant in Kinross, Michigan, US. Construction is expected to start in the next 3-6 months and completion is expected by year-end 2013. Valero said it will also have the option to expand the Kinross facility's capacity to up to 80m gal/year. Valero will provide project management to build and operate the Kinross facility, as well as market the ethanol produced at the plant. Valero will also hold a majority interest in the joint venture.

Solazyme, Dynamic Fuels supplies US Navy
Dynamic Fuels, a joint venture between Tyson Foods and Syntroleum, has been awarded a contract to supply the US Navy with 450,000 gallons of renewable fuels. Solazyme will help Dynamic Fuels fulfill the contract, which the Navy and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported is the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history. The biofuel will be manufactured at Dynamic Fuel's Geismar, Louisiana, plant using U.S.-sourced yellow grease (used cooking oil) as well as Solazyme's tailored algal oil as feedstocks. The fuel will be delivered to the U.S. Navy in May 2012.

ADM builds biodiesel plant in Canada
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is building a 265m liter/year (70m gal/year) biodiesel plant in Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada, which will increase ADM's North American biodiesel capacity by 50%. Construction on the facility will commence in spring 2012, and be completed in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2013. ADM has an oilseed crushing plant in Lloydminster that crushes canola and exports much of the resulting oil to Asia for food applications, and to Europe for use as a biodiesel feedstock.

LanzaTech on more coal-to-fuel project
LanzaTech and Chinese coal producer Yankuang Group plan to produce fuels and chemicals using LanzaTech's fermentation process and synthesis gas from Yankuang's coal gasification unit.LanzaTech envisages a demonstration facility will be operational by the second half of 2012.

Flint Hills buys biodiesel plant
Flint Hills Resources has acquired an idled biodiesel plant in Beatrice, Nebraska, through a bankruptcy sale. The plant, which was built in 2008 and was never in service, is designed to produce 50m gal/year of biodiesel. Flint Hills Resources expects it will take several months to evaluate the site before determining a path forward.

Verenium launches biodiesel enzyme
Verenium is now selling its Purifine phospholipase C (PLC) enzyme product targeted for use in pretreatment of oil for biodiesel production. The company expects first customer applying the enzyme for biofuel production, engineered and implemented by Alfa Laval, to be fully operational in the first half of 2012. The enzyme is said to enable a high yield of oil and at the same time remove phospholipid impurities improving the overall economics of biodiesel production.

Toyota Motor's new ethanol yeast strain
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) has developed a new strain of yeast that not only can ferment xylose at high efficient rate but can is also said to be resistant to fermentation-inhibiting substances such as acetic acid. The yeast is said to have achieved one of the highest ethanol fermentation density levels in the world* (approximately 47 g/liter), and is expected to improve bio-fuel yield and significantly reduce production costs. TMC said it is also working on cellulosic ethanol.

Evogene expands castor development
Evogene and Brazilian agribusiness firm SLC Agricola are expanding their development of castor bean seeds as a cost-competitive feedstock for biofuels (cost equivalent to $50/bbl). The collaboration, initiated in 2010, is focused on developing castor seed with high oil yield suitable for sustainable and commercial production in Brazil.

Other Biofuel News and reports:

  • ICIS Launches New Weekly Global Biodiesel Report
  • New report highlights growth of advanced biofuels in US -- NNFCC
  • Global Biofuels Market Value to Double to $185 Billion by 2021, Forecasts Pike Research
  • U.S. Military to Invest $10 Billion Annually in Renewable Energy by 2030, According to Pike Research 
  • Certain Biofuel Mandates Unlikely to Be Met by 2022 Unless New Technologies, Policies Developed
  • Global Biofuels Growth Will Continue Despite Economic and Political Obstacles, Study Says
  • US Ethanol Subject Of New European Commission Investigation


Bio-jet fuel momentum soaring high

By Doris de Guzman on December 13, 2011 1:28 PM

It seems like almost every week I've been seeing news about the use of biofuel in commercial airlines and I've even wrote a story about it on ICIS Chemical Business (link for subscribers only) when United Airlines announced its commercial demonstration flight from Texas to Chicago using 40% algae-derived jet fuel developed by Solazyme and refined by Honeywell's UOP.

According to RenewableJetFuels.org, the first top five renewable jet fuel supply chain companies in terms of economic viability, scalability, and sustainability are as follows:


According to the group, some renewable jet fuel companies could be producing enough renewable fuel to replace 10-20% of the fuel of a typical mid-sized airline in the next five years in their current state. As of the posting of this blog, about 45m liters of renewable jet fuel worldwide has been produced, the group said.

Elsevier, the science division of  ICIS' parent company Reed Elsevier, is said to have developed a database tool called Biofuel Techselect which is composed of 2,000 bioenergy supply chain companies, incorporating a range of technologies including waste-to-energy and algae. The green blogger's next move is to go downstairs on the Elsevier floor and do some snooping. Maybe I'll try to crash their Christmas party instead ;-).

Meanwhile, in recent news, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) via the US Department of Transportation's Volpe Center has actually awarded $7.7m to eight companies that include, among others, LanzaTech ($3m), Virent ($1.5m), and Honeywell's UOP ($1.1m). The companies selected will help the FAA develop and approve alternative, sustainably-sourced "drop in" jet fuels that can be used without changing aircraft engine systems or airport fueling infrastructure.

For LanzaTech, the company said it is working on producing alcohols from waste gas and then its partner Swedish Biofuels will convert the alcohols to jet fuel.A key goal of the project is to produce 100+ gallons of alternative jet fuel for testing by the US Air Force Research Laboratory as part of the certification process for alcohol to jet (ATJ) fuels.

Virent said it intends to demonstrate its expertise in converting a wide variety of conventional sugars and lignocellulosic biomass to jet fuel, while UOP is working with Gevo on converting isobutanol into jet fuel. UOP will deliver 100 gallons of isobutanol-based renewable jet fuel to the government in 2012, which will then be evaluated to ensure it is compatible with aircraft engines and that it meets specification for flight.


Weekly News Roundup

By Doris de Guzman on December 12, 2011 5:25 PM

Here's the blog's late news roundup (as usual). A couple of biofuel news that came out the past two weeks will be in a separate post.

Arkema buys bio-polyamide producer
French specialty chemical firm Arkema has acquired Chinese companies Hipro Polymers, a producer of biobased polyamide 10,10, and Casda Biomaterials, a producer castor oil-based sebacic acid which is used to manufacture polyamide 10,10. Both companies - which are predominantly owned by a joint venture between privately owned Chinese specialty chemical company Feixiang Chemicals and Bain Capital - report aggregate sales estimated at $230 M for 2011, and employ 750 people on two sites in China.

GlycosBio picks Toyo Engineering
Glycos Biotechnologies has chosen Toyo Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its industrial biochemical that will be build in Johor, Malaysia, and scheduled to be completed in second quarter of 2013. GlycosBio's refinery will have initial capacity of up to 30,000 tonnes by 2014 and will subsequently scale up to 90,000 tonnes. Target biochemicals from the plant will include isoprene and ethanol from crude glycerin.

Codexis launches cellulase for biobased chems
Codexis has introduced its cellulosic enzyme CodeXyme product line to convert biomass to sugar for use in bio-based chemicals production. The cellulase enzymes is said to have the potential to deliver lower-cost sugar from abundant, locally available feedstock enabling an economically viable biobased chemical industry. The company expects to have commercial samples for customers in the chemicals industry broadly available in the second half of 2012.

Allylix begins nootkatone production
Alllylix has begun production of nootkatone for the flavor and fragrance industry in large-scale commercial quantities using 200,00 liter fermentation tanks. Nootkatone is the flavor and fragrance material that gives grapefruit its aroma and is used as a flavor ingredient in beverage, confection, frozen dairy as well as a fragrance material in perfumes, colognes, fabric and personal care products.

Ansell buys Yulex stakes
Australia-based Ansell Limited has purchased a minority share of Yulex, a manufacturer of biopolymers derived from guayule - a commercial crop and the only rubber-producing species other than the Brazilian rubber tree. Ansell and Yulex executed an exclusive agreement for the global development, manufacturing and distribution rights for medical gloves, personal protective equipment gloves, and condoms made of guayule latex.

Laurel BioComposite's first shipment
Laurel BioComposite has opened its new 250 lb/hour pilot plant in November and shipped Bio-Res pellets from its first production run to a major customer for trials. Bio-Res is made from corn-based distillers grain and can be blended with polyethylene, polypropylene, polylactic acid and PHA. Bio-Res pelletes are made of 60-80% bio-content and is suitable for use in industries that include shipping, law and garden, agriculture and automotive applications.

Biodiegradable plastic additive grades ok'd
EcoLogic's Eco-One additives for enhancing biodegradation of polyamide (Nylon), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP) and clear-molded polypropylene have achieved compliance with Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) for use in food contact applications in Brazil. EcoLogic had previously announced that the company's Eco-One additives for enhancing biodegradation of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) achieved compliance in August of 2011. Eco-One additives are distributed in Brazil by EcoLogic's partner, TIV Plasticos.

And in ICIS News (requires subscription):
US-based industrial biotechnology firm Codexis expects to make its first commercial sales of its cellulosic-sugar-based detergent alcohol products by 2014.

US-based oleochemicals producer Vantage Specialty Chemicals is close to being sold, with a private equity firm the likely buyer, several sources in the financial community said.

The UK is likely to implement the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED) as of 15 December 2011, the press officer for Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Redcar Ian Swales said.

China's Jiangsu Haiqing Biotechnology started up its first 100,000 tonne/year methyl ester sulfonates plant at Zhenjiang in Jiangsu province.

Global demand for bio-degradables and bio-based plastics will more than triple to over 1m tonnes in 2015, valued at $2.9bn (€2.1bn), according to a market research study by Cleveland-based industry research firm, The Freedonia Group.


Introducing P2 Science

By Doris de Guzman on December 12, 2011 3:20 PM
Speaking of investing, our good friend Neil Burns and Connecticut, US-based Elm Street Ventures recently invested in newly formed company called P2 Science, which will focus on the development and manufacture of a new class of high performance carbohydrate-based surfactants called C-glycosides (CGs).
 

According to the company's website, the surfactants are being positioned primarily as co-surfactants and can enhance the performance properties of primary surfactants such as linear alkylbenezene sulfonic acid (LAS), sodium alkyl (ether) sulfates (AS/AES), alcohol ethoxylates (AE) and similar products.

CGs are said to be highly effective at reducing surface tension, can solubilize organic materials as effective (or better) than other carbohydrate-based nonionics, and have tunable properties (no idea what tunable properties are...).

Feedstock for the surfactant includes glucose, lactose, xylose and galactose but P2 Science said it is also looking at algal lipids as feedstock for the hydrophobic portion of the surfactant molecules.

The lead inventor in the CG field - Patrick Foley of Yale University - is now P2 Science's chief scientific officer while Neil is the company's founding CEO.

Also check out my article on carbohydrate surfactants on ICIS Chemical Business published in May (free access!).


$355m venture firm for green chems

By Doris de Guzman on December 11, 2011 6:07 PM

As I am preparing for my incoming article on ICIS Chemical Business about renewable chemicals investment 2012 outlook, I came across this news about Warburg Pincus investing up to $355m in an new private equity firm called First Green Partners based in Minneapolis.

The new firm will be led by Doug Cameron - ex-Cargill official and former chief science officer at Khosla Ventures, and Tom Erickson, co-founder and general partner of venture capital firm BlueStream Ventures. I briefly got introduced to Mr. Cameron early this year during the Infocast biobased chemicals conference that he chaired in San Diego, California. Hopefully, we will soon know more about First Green Partners as I am setting up an interview with Mr. Cameron for my January 2 article.

According to their press release on Friday, First Green will invest in early-stage companies focusing on developing methods to convert renewable carbons such as non-food biomass and carbon dioxide to fuels and chemicals. The press release also mentioned their interest in "green-black" technologies -- first I heard of this term -- which is applications of green  or clean technologies in conventional energy process.

First Green will make initial investments of $500,000 to $10m in each emerging technology and up to $100m in a single business as it commercializes.


"There is a mismatch in the marketplace between the advanced technologies and innovations related to the carbon value chain that can change the energy landscape and the lack of capital to help commercialize them. We believe now is the perfect time to provide First Green's capital and expertise to make these emerging technologies a commercial reality." - Cameron

Definitely good news for companies looking to finance their next development and [or] commercialization steps especially in a narrowing flotation window for biobased chemical and biofuel companies looking to enter  the stock market. 

According to a recent article in ICB, the recent poor performance of many biobased chemical/biofuel companies along with the overall downward-biased volatility of the stock market has dampened investor appetite for IPOs.

We'll find out in January the current status of financing environment for renewable chemical companies and what industry observers predict for 2012.


Sweet and salty Montana deicers

By Doris de Guzman on December 9, 2011 11:19 AM
Apologies for the post absence, December is a critical exam season and the magazine is also taking up most of my time these days. Hopefully next week will be a little better in terms of posting.
 

Let me start with the news this week from Rivertop Renewables about their sugar-based corrosion inhibitors that will be used this winter in liquid deicers by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). 

According to the press release, MDT has contracted the company for a 110,000 gallons of the bio-based corrosion inhibitors trademarked "Headwaters" to be mixed with MDT's salt brine deicers to prevent corrosion of bridges and vehicles.

According to MDT (via NBC Montana news), they mix 23% by weight salt water and then 7.5% by volume of inhibitor. The inhibitor is expected to reduce corrosion rate by 70%, according to Rivertop Renewables.

The inhibitors are derived from sodium gluconate, the sodium salt of gluconic acid which is produced by fermentation of glucose - in this case corn sugar.

The blog asked Rivertop Renewables where the inhibitors are being produced and who are manufacturing it. According to Dr. Dave Wilkening, product manager Corrosion Sciences, the Headwaters product is currently toll-produced by Missoula-based Pelican Chemical. Rivertop Renewables is not disclosing the sodium gluconate supplier, however, due to competitive reasons.

I'm trying to remember (back in the old Chemical Market Reporting days) who are the producers of sodium gluconate. ADM, Roquette, Jungbunzlauer and Cargill came to mind.

According to Wilkening, the inhibitors are then transported to various MDT depots around the state for mixing with the deicers and use on roadways.

"Rivertop's Headwaters inhibitor product is currently price competitive with traditional inhibitors and other biobased inhibitors due to our production and transport process. Like all DOT's, MDT is required to contract with the lowest bonded bidder whose product meets standard. Rivertop won that bid this year, meeting both criteria." - Wilkening
The blog has been reporting about Rivertop Renewables for several years now and of course most of it focusing on glucaric acid, where the company announced in April the construction of its 100,000 lb/year semi-works plant in Missoula starting this fall. Rivertop is planning to first apply its glucarate products in the detergents market as alternative to phosphates.

"The company continues to conduct research and development of products derived from glucaric acid to be used in corrosion inhibition markets - in the same road deicers market as the Headwaters product, but also in industrial water treatment, and yet-to-be-disclosed specialty applications." - Wilkening


Opinion: A Gevo case study

By Doris de Guzman on December 5, 2011 11:04 PM
This insight is by Martin Monroe, a strategist with over 20 years of work experience and a unique, advanced education in both management (PhD, MBA) and technology (MS biotechnology, BS Chem. Engr.).
 

He has been a strategy consultant to a major petrochemical firm, advised CEOs and Boards of small businesses, and twice been a CEO of small, tech-based start-ups. He previously held increasingly responsible positions in logistics, finance, marketing, and purchasing during 11 years at Exxon Chemical Americas HQ.

During his 7 years at three research universities, Mr. Monroe became a published scholarly author, a presenter at major scholarly conferences, and an invited speaker. Mr. Monroe has also taught 30 sections of undergrads, professionals, and MBA students across a broad range of management subject areas (Strategy, OT, Project Mgmt, Chg. Mgmt, OB, HRM).

This might be the blog's last solicited opinion piece for 2011 so I hope this will be an interesting read for you.



Disclaimer: The green blog does not have any input whatsoever on this article.


 

Getting to know Renmatix

By Doris de Guzman on December 2, 2011 3:21 PM
This post is a little bit difficult for me to do given my extremely little knowledge about sugar chemistry and its industry. I'm also not familiar with the sugar market compared to my 10-year background in the vegetable oils and animal fats industry.
 

But with everybody talking about sugar in the renewable chemicals sector, the blog might as well get to know Pennsylvania, US-based cellulosic sugar producer Renmatix a little bit better. According to their website, the 3-year old start-up company, stealthily funded by Kleiner Perkins, was formerly called Sriya Innovations and its current name is now derived from RENewable MATerials to show its commitment to this industry.

Renmatix claimed itself to be the current lowest-cost producer of cellulosic sugar. In September, the company unveiled its technology platform Plantrose process that uses supercritical hydrolysis, which Renmatix claimed can produce cheaper sugars than ever before from non food-derived feedstock (specifically woody biomass) for use in biofuel and chemical applications.

The technology process does not use enzymes but instead uses pure water as solvent. The problem with cellulosic sugar, according to Renmatix, is that it is difficult to break down from its source -- whether from leaves, tree trunks, grasses, etc -- and that is one of the biggest scientific challenges for the renewable chemicals (and advanced biofuels) sector in trying to use it as feedstock.

On their website, Renmatix said it can deconstruct cellulosic materials into two core processing steps: First, fractionation of biomass and separation of the remaining solids which contain cellulose and lignin. Second, hydrolysis of the pretreated solids under more severe conditions using hot compressed water as primary solvent.

The end product in the Plantrose process are C5 (xylose) and C6 (glucose) sugars. Renmatix said it uses waste wood that has no commercial value but the process can also use a wide variety of non-food cellulosic materials. The company already has its sugar trademarked Plantro Chemicals (for renewable chemicals application obviously such as biobutanol, surfactants, lactic acid, polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.); and Plantro Fuels (biobutanol, jet fuel, diesel applications).

Renmatix noted that it has scaled its production by 3,000x since May 2008 and it is currently able to process 3 dry tons/day of biomass at its demo plant in Kennesaw, Georgia. Few are pursuing supercritical fluid routes for biomass, said Renmatix, and none are near the scale that the company is said to have achieved.

The company said it plans to build, own and operate its own production facilities as well as license the technology for some markets. No word yet on when and where the company will have its first commercial facility but news reports indicated that details about the $100m facility will be announced early next year.

Renmatix said, its commercial plants will have a very small footprint and will be customized depending on the local feedstock availability e.g. corn stover in Iowa, wood chips in Georgia, switchgrass in South Dakota.










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