Project Liberty taken back into R&D mode due to RFS uncertainty

In Iowa, POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels, LLC, a joint venture of Royal DSM and POET, LLC announced that it will pause production of cellulosic biofuels at Project LIBERTY and shift to R&D focused on improving operational efficiency. This step is a result of EPA challenges with the implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The joint venture will focus on R&D with the goal of improving mechanical reliability, creating additional technological efficiencies and licensing technology in countries which favorably support the use of low carbon fuels from crop residue and other biomass.

As part of this effort, the joint venture will use biomass stored on site or already under contract and will not purchase additional biomass at this time. The team needed to sustain R&D efforts has been evaluated and the joint venture will move forward with a reduced headcount in February. From the very beginning, the team at LIBERTY have been pioneers, and both companies are grateful for their contribution to the effort. Without these individuals, significant progress in commercializing a new, lower carbon fuel would not have been achieved.