BioFuels Journal

by Jerry Perkins, BioFuels Journal editor

Ethanol producer POET, LLC, Sioux Fall, SD, and Royal DSM, a global life sciences and materials sciences company based in the Netherlands, announced Monday, Jan. 23 that they have formed a $250 million joint venture to commercially produce cellulosic ethanol at POET’s Project Liberty in Emmetsburg, IA, and, eventually, at the 26 other ethanol plants operated by POET.

The joint venture also intends to license the technology developed by the partnership, based on the proprietary and complementary technologies that have been developed by the two companies.

Called POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC, the joint venture is scheduled to start production at the Project Liberty site in the second half of 2013, said Jeff Broin, CEO of POET, and Feike Sijbesma, CEO/Chairman of the DSM Managing Board.

POET also announced Monday that, because of the joint venture with DSM, the company does not plan to use the loan guarantee it had been awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 23, 2011.

At that time, POET received a commitment from the DOE for a $105 million loan guarantee to finance Project Liberty.

Broin said that the loan guarantee commitment from the DOE isn’t needed now because the joint venture with DSM “positions us well to meet our ambitious cellulosic ethanol production goals, and thus the loan guarantee has become unnecessary.”

The joint venture calls for the two partners to produce cellulosic ethanol from corn crop residue through a biological process using enzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentation at Project Liberty, which is currently under construction next to POET’s existing corn ethanol plant in Emmetsburg in northwest Iowa.

The initial capacity of Project Liberty will be 20 million gallons in the first year, and will eventually be ramped up to approximately 25 million gallons year (MMGY), Broin said in a teleconference call with reporters.

POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC, intends to install the technology for cellulosic ethanol at the other 26 corn ethanol facilities in POET’s network and license it to other producers in the United States and other countries, Broin and Sijbesma said in the teleconference.

DSM and POET each hold a 50% shake in the joint venture, which will be headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD.

Closing of the joint venture is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Broin said POET chose DSM to be its partner because of its enzyme and yeast technologies for processing C5 and C6 sugars.

“They are an excellent strategic partner for POET,” he said. The joint venture has two objectives, Broin stated.

The first objective, he said, is to finish construction of the Project Liberty plant so it can start producing cellulosic ethanol in second half of 2013.

Second, he said, the joint venture will take its technology and apply it at POET’s other 26 plants and license the technology to others.

“This partnership has the potential to change the world,” Broin said.

Sijbesma said that the joint venture between DSM and Poet will make cellulosic ethanol production a reality by 2013.

“By making this a reality by 2013, we are no longer talking,” he said. “We are getting this done.”

DSM has a unique position in the development of cellulosic ethanol because, he said, it is the only company that offers both yeast and enzymes that can increase conversion rates to make the cellulosic technology commercially viable.

DSM chose POET as a partner because it is a leader in ethanol production and has significant experience in scaling-up technology for producing ethanol.

It also has a leadership position in cellulosic technology that it has demonstrated at its research facility in Scotland, SD.

POET also has developed expertise in collecting and aggregating the corn residue that Project Liberty will use, he said.

“This is a joint venture of two industry leaders with one vision,” Sijbesma said.

“We are confident we can succeed.”

See Related Websites/Articles:

• POET
• DSM

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