Virent Energy Systems: 50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy candidate profiles

Virent Energy Systems
Based in: Wisconsin
2008-09 ranking: #3

Business: Virent’s patented catalytic BioForming process combines proprietary aqueous phase reforming (APR) technology with established petroleum refining techniques to generate the same range of hydrocarbon molecules now refined from petroleum.

Model: Owner/operator and licensing within strategic relationships

Past milestones:

1. Announced collaboration with Royal Dutch Shell to develop biogasoline.
2. Exceeded technical milestones and began scale-up of biogasoline production, including shipment of product for testing.
3. Received prestigious government and industry recognition including the US EPA’s Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge, the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer, Red Herring 100 North America, and ICIS Innovation awards.

Future milestones:

1. Design and construct commercial scale facility for the production of biogasoline.
2. Complete additional strategic investments.
3. Begin scale-up of diesel and jet fuel production.

Metrics: The process is CO2 neutral, water positive, and has low life cycle emissions.  This energy efficient, exothermic process runs under moderate conditions and requires no external energy inputs.  The process yields 30% more net energy than corn ethanol due to the natural separation of gasoline from water (ethanol distillation requires energy inputs of nearly 50% of its final energy content).

Virent quotable quotes: “Premium Liquid Fuel Products: The technology produces a wide range of high quality hydrocarbon fuels that have no barriers to full market adoption.  With the same composition and energy content as petroleum fuels, these biofuels can be distributed through existing pipelines and fuel pumps, and used at high blends with, or as drop in replacements for, petroleum fuels in today’s engines.  They can also work in applications currently without viable biofuel solutions, such as air travel.”

“Feedstock Flexibiity: Sugar mixtures, including 5 and 6 carbon sugars, disaccharides, and other water soluble polysaccharides derived from sugar and energy crops, as well as agricultural and forestry waste, are possible feedstocks.  This flexibility translates into more biomass options and lower input costs.”

The Hot 50 for 2009-10 will be released Tuesday, 12/1. Between now and then, you’ll see profiles of potential candidates in the Digest, and you’ll have a chance to vote for your favorites. Reader response will count for 50 percent of a company’s overall score in the preparation of the rankings. The remaining 50 percent is voted by a panel of experts.

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