Genera Energy: Biofuels Digest’s 5-Minute Guide

Company description:  

Genera Energy is a for-profit limited liability company wholly owned by the University of Tennessee Research Foundation. Genera provides a vehicle to leverage state and federal funding with private research and development investments, strategic partnerships and collaborations to further research, economic development and clean energy objectives. Genera is focused on developing integrated biomass supply chain solutions and strategic partnerships to advance the bioenergy industry.

Genera’s portfolio of clean energy projects include:

• Contracting with farmers to produce 6,000 acres of switchgrass on privately owned farms in East Tennessee.
• Construction and operation of a demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery in Vonore, Tennessee. The biorefinery is operated in conjunction with DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol.
• Construction and operation of Tennessee’s Biomass Innovation Park, a research, demonstration and development campus in Vonore, Tennessee that focuses on purpose-grown energy crops and integrates the entire biomass supply chain in one location. The Biomass Innovation Park includes harvesting, handling, storage, densification, transportation, pre-processing and conversion.
• Partnership with an energy crop seed company.
• Establishment and management of the Tennessee Biomass Supply Cooperative, a new generation farmers’ cooperative.
• Genera Capital, a new subsidiary that is the venture funding arm of Genera Energy.

Address: 

2450 EJ Chapman Drive, Suite 216, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Year founded:

2008

Annual Revenues: 

Grants and contracts; minor switchgrass sales

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

State of Tennessee

Type of Technology(ies)

• Integrated and comprehensive biomass to biofuels and bioproducts.
• Integrated switchgrass supply chain solutions (seeds, production, management, harvesting, storage, transportation, and pre-processing).

Feedstocks:

Switchgrass, woody biomass and other purpose-grown energy crops.

Fuel Type: 

Cellulosic ethanol; biochemicals and bioproducts from lignin.

Offtake partners (if applicable)

Undisclosed

Co-products (if applicable)

Chemicals and products from lignin

Past Milestones 

1. 1. Grand Opening – Demonstration-Scale Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefinery – January 29, 2010 in Vonore, Tennessee.
2. 2. Biomass Innovation Park Groundbreaking in Vonore, Tennessee – July 29, 2010.
3. 3. Formed the first value-added processing cooperative for biomass feedstock, the Tennessee Biomass Supply Cooperative.

Future Milestones 

1. 1. Production of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass at Vonore biorefinery.
2. 2. Completion of Biomass Innovation Park, in Tennessee and validation of regional aggregation depot business model for sustainable biomass supplies, co-product processing and pre-processing.
3. 3. Use the Vonore biorefinery to demonstrate new improvement and optimization for commercial development.
4. 4. Begin construction on the first commercial-scale switchgrass to ethanol biorefinery project in Tennessee.

Business Model: (e.g. owner-operator, technology licensor, fee-based industry supplier, investor)

• • Biomass feedstock solution provider
• • Technical Licensor
• • Project Developer

Competitive Edge(s):

• • Owner of the only demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery operating on multiple biomass feedstocks.
• • Developer of unique Biomass Innovation Park that integrates and optimizes the entire biomass supply chain in one location, spanning from the field gate to the biorefinery gate, including biomass receiving, handling, convergence, storage, pre-processing and densification.
• • Partner with DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol.

Affiliated with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, with access to license all clean energy Intellectual Property.

• • Manager of unprecedented state funded Tennessee Biofuels Initiative.
• • Partner with the nation’s largest State Farm Bureau.

Distribution, Research, Marketing or Production Partnerships or Alliances. 

• • Research Partners – John Deere, Vermeer, AGCO, Case New Holland, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture, and University of Tennessee
• • Alliances – State of Tennessee, University of Tennessee, Tennessee Farm Bureau

Stage  (Bench, pilot, demonstration, commercial)

Demonstration/Pilot; Pre-Commercial

Website 

www.generenergy.net