INEOS Bio: Biofuels Digest’s 5-Minute Guide

October 29, 2012 |

Company description:

INEOS Bio is a BioEnergy company commercializing and licensing its novel thermo-chemical and bio-chemical technology for the production of renewable biofuels and renewable energy from a wide range of low-cost carbon materials. The company’s initial focus is the commercialization of its leading third-generation ethanol technology process to serve the global renewable fuels and the renewable energy markets. Backed by decades of experience in developing and licensing industrial-scale technology, INEOS Bio creates more sustainable communities and transportation by converting waste and non-food crop biomass into advanced biofuel. The INEOS Bio bioenergy technology solution uses a flexible approach that is fast, safe and reliable, allowing it to be commercialized wherever there is waste. By taking this localized approach, INEOS Bio reduces landfill and air pollution, creates jobs, generates tax revenue and safely produces renewable fuel and clean energy.

Address:
3030 Warrenville Rd., Suite 650
Lisle, IL 60532 U.S.A.

Year founded
1984

Major Investors
INEOS is the sole owner of the company and technology.

Type of Technology(ies)
The INEOS Bio process is a combined thermochemical and biochemical technology for ethanol and power production. Under development for over 20 years, including 8 years of successful integrated pilot plant testing, it is comprised of four main steps: (1) feedstock gasification, (2) synthesis gas fermentation (3) ethanol recovery and (4) power generation. The process utilizes a patented fermentation process, where cleaned, cooled synthesis gas is converted selectively into ethanol by a naturally occurring bacterium under anaerobic conditions.

Feedstocks:
The INEOS Bio process is feedstock flexible. Unlike other technologies that rely on one primary source of feedstock, the INEOS Bio process has been extensively tested and can produce bioethanol and renewable energy from numerous feedstocks, including vegetative, yard, construction waste, municipal solid waste and forestry and agricultural waste. Use of waste material breaks the link between food crops and ethanol production. This flexibility allows facilities to be built anywhere in the world, wherever there is biomass waste, providing jobs and locally sourced waste solutions and renewable energy for urban and rural communities. The range of organic materials that can be used includes, but is not limited to:
• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
• Commercial & industrial wastes
• Contaminated waste wood
• Forestry wastes (e.g. brash, bark, saw dust, wood chippings)
• Agricultural wastes (e.g. sugar cane bagasse, corn stover, straw)
• Lingo-cellulose energy crops (e.g. trees, coppice, miscanthus and switch grass)

Fuel Type
Cellulosic Ethanol

Fuel Cost
We forecast the ability to produce cellulosic ethanol for $1.00 per gallon (or less).

Co-products (if applicable)

Renewable Power

3 Top Past Milestones

• Commercial Facility Under Construction – construction began in Spring 2011, is now 25% complete, and will be finished in April 2012
• Successful Financing – all financing has been completed for the first commercial project including strong support from the U.S. Government. First large-scale facility to complete both DOE Grant and USDA Loan Guarantee process.
• Continue Extensive Technology Development — To date the technology has over 340,000 hours in the laboratory and over 45,000 hours of integrated pilot plant time (8+ years);

3 Major Milestone Goals for 2013-15

• Commission the first commercial facility in by year end 2012;
• Build additional larger-scale facilities in the U.S. and around the World;
• License technology globally to third-parties.

Business Model:
INEOS Bio is the owner/operator of the first commercial-scale plant via a joint venture.
INEOS will build, own and operate facilities and actively license the technology. As the leading licensor of chemical process technology, INEOS currently has over 270 licenses for its technologies in 51 countries around the World. INEOS will utilize a similar approach and leverage its skills, experience and resources to replicate this leading technology on a global basis.

Competitive Edge(s):
INEOS Bio has an experienced team of engineers, scientists, IP Legal, business development, logistics, and marketing professionals who have developed and commercialized new chemical process technologies and who have designed, built, commissioned and operated world-scale facilities.

The technology has been successfully demonstrated at an integrated pilot scale utilizing a wide range of feedstocks.

The technology has a competitive advantage versus other biofuels technologies through its feedstock flexibility and ability to covert a number of different carbonaceous materials into both biofuels and renewable power. The INEOS Bio technology can be located near both the feedstock and distribution centers, thus providing an advantage for logistics intake as well as fuel off take and generation of renewable power. The ability to use zero or negative cost feedstocks provides an advantage in producing a lower cost and competitive biofuel.

The plant has the ability to switch feedstocks based on their availability and relative cost to ensure that it is always using the most economically and environmentally sustainable feedstock at all times.

Stage (Bench, pilot, demonstration, commercial)

Pilot to Commercial Scale. Over 8 years of successful integrated pilot plant testing at large scale with varied feedstocks has been completed. The Commercial facility will enter service by year end 2012.

Company website

Category: 5-Minute Guide

Thank you for visting the Digest.