EdeniQ: Biofuels Digest’s 5-Minute Guide

November 12, 2012 |

Address: 2505 N. Shirk Road, Visalia, CA 93291

Year Founded: 2008

Company description:

Edeniq integrates patented mechanical and biological processes to efficiently and cost-effectively break down plant material into sugars that become sustainable fuels and/or industrial materials. Edeniq’s patent portfolio includes innovation in biological catalysts plus mechanical processes that help meet the industry-wide challenge of taking today’s plant-based resources into future markets and applications.

Major Investors (if a public company, please provide trading symbol and exchange).

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Draper Fisher Jurvetson
The Westly Group
Angeleno Group
Cyrus Capital
Morgan Stanley
Element Partners
Flint Hills Resources
I2BF

3 Top Milestones for 2009‐12

DOE funded biorefinery retrofit, allowing our existing pilot plant to be upgraded to a larger, continuous operating unit. DOE fully funded their $20M portion in Feb 2011 after we passed their engineering review. Retrofit completed and plant commissioned in 1H 2012. Technology showcased at this plant is the integration of our biological and mechanical solution, converting non-food biomass into low cost sugars and ethanol. The plant is called our CCM plant, named for our Corn – to – Cellulosic Migration strategy.

Commercialization of our biomass particle sizing units (the Cellunators), which are up and running at three large US based corn ethanol plants, providing over 3% yield improvements to the plants.

Product development of Edeniq Enzyme solution, named Pathway TM, which provides corn ethanol plants a drop in solution to produce cellulosic ethanol at their plant from the corn bran/pericarp. The drop in solution consists of using Edeniq’s Cellunator particle sizing milling unit along with Edeniq’s proprietary Pathway TM enzyme solution.

3 Major Milestone Goals for 2013‐15

Operations of DOE backed, 50,000 GPY pilot scale biorefinery in 2012-2013, including running multiple cellulosic (non food) feedstocks through the plant to showcase our economical conversion rates into cellulosic sugars and ethanol.

Commercial sales and installation of Pathway product (drop in corn cellulosic ethanol solution which allows the corn bran/pericarp to convert into ethanol, thereby providing cellulosic ethanol) at current corn-based ethanol plants. Continue our work with EPA for qualified advanced fuel RINs credits on this product line.

Scale up of ohigh purity, cellulosic feedstock based sugars. The scale up will be in both the US and Brazil locations, converting corn stover and bagasse, respectively, into high purity sugars that will be sold as an intermediate to advanced fuel and renewable chemical producers.

Business Model:

“Due to our broad industry experience at Edeniq, along with our base of investors and strategic partners, we have business strategy that may include all of the above business models.”

Competitive Edge(s):

Broad Market Applicability: Low-cost sugars (from corn, cellulosic or other feedstocks) feed into a variety of possible revenue streams and result in more economically-competitive products.

Open-System Plant Partnerships: Business model allows for close collaboration with existing producers (in the US, Brazil and ROW) and those migrating to next-generation production.

Mechanical and Biological Integration: Our patented combination of proprietary machines and enzymes brings cutting-edge research and development to existing facilities. Today, we have bolt-on technologies and retrofits that improve existing biofuel facilities and boost profitability.

Research, or Manufacturing Partnerships or Alliances.

Worldwide exclusive license to Cellunator biomass milling machine (OEM is IKA Works).

Licensed biologics technology from USDA Forest Products Laboratory.

Department of Energy program is funding $20M of a $25M retrofit of Edeniq’s existing cellulosic ethanol pilot plant.

Current investors and Flint Hills Resources (largest division of Koch Industries) just put in equity in a Series B2 and Series C round, which closed in Q2 2012.

California Energy Commission (CEC) added a nearly $4 million grant to focus our CCM (corn to cellulosic mirgration) strategy on California based agricultural waste feedstocks; along with funds to perform feasibility studies to commercialize the technology at the California corn ethanol plants.

Stage 

We have operated a pilot scale plant, running batch runs through the plant for almost 6 years. After the launch of our retrofitted pilot plant in 1H 2012, we now have the ability to run up to 2 tons of biomass through a day continuously. The total annual capacity for this retrofitted plant will be up to 50,000 gallons per year.

Company website:

Project information

CCM Pilot Biorefinery
Location:

Visalia, California

Materials or products produced

Cellulosic Sugars and Ethanol

Capacity (Millions of US gallons per years)

50,000 GPY

Year, month in service

Plant has been in service since March 2012

Feedstock:

Corn stover
Switchgrass
Sugarcane bagasse
Wood fiber

Processing technology
Mechanical pretreatment (Cellunator)
Advanced C5/C6 yeasts
Advanced enzymes (Pathway)
Advanced corn oil extraction (OilPlus)
Combination of sacccharification and fermentation
SmartFlow Technology for water and lignin recovery

 

Product information

Product Brand Name: Cellunator

Product Description:

Proprietary bolt-on mixing and particle sizing milling device

Product Applications:

Installed and running at three Edeniq customer facilities, as well as showcased at Edeniq’s pilot biorefinery facility located at Visalia headquarters

Unique Features

Pretreatment of corn and cellulosic biomass increases conversion efficiency of starch and cellulose by increasing surface area of particles and making particle sizes uniform. Delivers low-cost, high-quality sugars for ethanol and other bio-based materials production

Feedstocks and bio-based content

Mills a variety of feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane bagasse, woodchips, corn stover, switchgrass, sugarcane

Product Brand Name: OilPlus

Product Description: Proprietary bolt-on corn oil extraction unit and process

Product Applications:

Releases oil from corn ethanol process, allowing it to be sold as a value add by product .

Unique Features: 

Proprietary bolt-on oil recovery process increase corn oil extraction, adding value

Feedstocks and bio-based content

Corn

 

Product Brand Name: Pathway enzymes

Product Description:

Process of integrating enzymes with mechanical platform to deliver even greater productivity

Product Applications:
Pathway enzymes, in combination with our Cellunator allow for conversion of cellulosic component of biomass into sugars and ethanol. Initial application is in corn ethanol plants, allowing the Cellunator and Pathway enzyme to convert the cellulosic component of corn into sugars and ethanol inside of the existing plant.

Unique Features

Our Pathway integrated enzymatic and mechanical platform is specially formulated for specific feedstocks

Feedstocks and bio-based content (

Can be used with a variety of feedstocks such as corn, sugarcane bagasse, woodchips, corn stover, switchgrass, sugarcane

Category: 5-Minute Guide

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