Ensyn: Biofuels Digest’s 2015 5-Minute Guide


Ensyn is a producer of advanced cellulosic biofuels.  Ensyn uses its patented and proprietary RTP fast thermal technology to convert wood residues and other non-food, cellulosic biomass to liquid biofuels. Ensyn has had continuous commercial operations for more than 25 years.  Its technology has produced over 37 million gallons of renewable fuels and chemicals in over 160,000 hours of successful plant operation.

The majority of Ensyn’s historical production has been dedicated to heating fuels and chemicals.  Ensyn is now applying the same technology and building out production capacity in numerous projects in North America and internationally for the production of a broader application of advanced cellulosic biofuels. Ensyn’s biofuels are petroleum replacements that are used as a direct replacement for heating oil and also serve as a feedstock for refineries in an application known as Refinery Coprocessing.

Refinery Coprocessing leads to the production of undifferentiated, “drop-in” gasoline and diesel products by processing Ensyn’s advanced biofuel alongside petroleum products in existing refineries.  By leveraging on existing refinery and downstream infrastructure, Refinery Coprocessing offers a cost-effective and fast-to-market solution for the production of drop-in advanced fuels from cellulosic biomass.

Ensyn’s cost of production, according to company figures, is among the most competitive in the industry.  For a prototypical twenty million gallon per year plant, Ensyn expects the capital cost to be in the $5-6 per gallon range and production costs to be in the $1.25 per gallon range, depending on plant location and other factors.

Rankings

50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy: 2014/15, #41

40 Hottest Small Companies in the Advanced Bioeconomy: 2014/15, #16

Biofuels Digest Awards:

Biofuels Digest’s 2012 Best Technology Extension Award: Envergent—Kapolei, HI

Business:

Drop-in transportation fuels, heating oil replacement, specialty chemicals

Model

Owner-operator and technology licensor.  Strategic partnerships with UOP Honeywell, Chevron Technology Ventures, Fibria

The Situation

Ensyn has designed and commissioned 16 facilities (from pilot to commercial scale) over the last 25 years for use the production of chemicals and heating fuels and for testing. Currently six commercial facilities are in operation using Ensyn’s technology, plus another two long term testing units.

Ensyn’s initial, commercial-scale production facility dedicated fully to biofuel production is located in Renfrew, Ontario.  Ensyn is currently expanding and enhancing the capacity of this facility to three million gallons/year – the expansion will be complete by Q3 2014.  Ensyn sells product from this facility into the US and Quebec.

Of late, the news has revolved around commercial deals for its RFO fuel, produced in its Renfrew facility. The company has landed two major hospital heating oil contracts in 2014 — we expect more to come.

Past milestones:

In November 2014, Ensyn announced it had initiated the generation and sale of its first RINs (Renewable Identification Numbers) under the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) and that Ensyn’s D7 cellulosic RINs have received QAP certification. Ensyn is the first company to generate cellulosic RINs under the US Environmental Protection Agency’s expanded definition of Heating Oil under RFS2, which became effective in December 2013. Ensyn believes it is now the leading producer of cellulosic D7 RINs in 2014.

In October 2014, Ensyn Fuels signed a contract with Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, New Hampshire, for the supply of RFO, Ensyn’s advanced cellulosic biofuel. Ensyn Fuels will provide the hospital with approximately 250,000 gallons/year of RFO for a renewable term of seven years, commencing deliveries by April 2015. This contract will allow Valley Regional to convert its entire heating requirements from petroleum fuels to Ensyn’s renewable fuel, lowering the hospital’s greenhouse gases from heating fuels by approximately 85% and reducing the hospital’s operating cost.

In April 2014, CRIBE said it would invest up to CAD$1.5m in Ensyn’s production facility in Renfrew, Ontario. CRIBE’s investment will leverage funding from Ensyn for a total project value of up to CAD$4 Million. The purpose of the funding is to help Ensyn convert its existing production facility in Renfrew to a dedicated biofuels facility with enhanced production capacity of three million gallons/year.

In March 2014, Ensyn Fuels signed a contract with Memorial Hospital of North Conway for the supply of RFO, Ensyn’s advanced cellulosic biofuel. Ensyn’s RFO, produced from forest residues, will be used by Memorial as a heating fuel, replacing petroleum-based fuels. This initiative will lower Memorial’s environmental footprint and will provide Memorial with net cost savings. Under the contract signed with Memorial, Ensyn Fuels will provide Memorial with approximately 300,000 gallons/year of RFO for a renewable term of five years, commencing deliveries as early as April, 2014.

Future Milestones

In addition to the expansion of the Renfrew plant to 3 million gallons of production annually, Ensyn has a robust development pipeline in North America and in Brazil.

Partnerships

Ensyn has established several strategic relationships with market leading companies in order to expand its business.  These include companies related to technology, feedstock, offtake, project development and finance.

Ensyn has a multi-faceted strategic alliance with UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company.  Under this alliance, UOP carries out the engineering and supply of Ensyn’s RTP biomass conversion equipment to biorefinery projects, with performance guarantees, though Envergent Technologies, a UOP/Ensyn joint venture.  In addition, UOP supports Ensyn in marketing and developing Refinery Coprocessing to refiners – including providing RFO delivery equipment to refiners.

Ensyn has established numerous partnerships with leading fiber owners in North America and internationally. The role of fiber owners incudes supplying biomass to projects for conversion to liquid fuels and participating in the equity of the projects.   Ensyn has a strategic alliance with Fibria Celulose S.A., Brazil’s leading pulp producer, and has a strategic relationship with Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, the world’s leading producer of palm oil.

The relationship between Ensyn and Fibria is particularly noteworthy. Ensyn and Fibria have established a joint venture to produce advanced biofuels in Brazil and Fibria invested $20 million in Ensyn equity.  Fibria is represented on Ensyn’s Board of Directors. Fibria has announced that the first project under this joint venture is to take place at their 2.3 million ton/year pulp mill in Aracruz in the State of Espirito Santo.

Ensyn and Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) have established a strategic relationship regarding the production of renewable transportation fuels from Ensyn’s RTP liquids. This initiative includes an agreement under which CTV is applying Chevron’s proprietary upgrading technologies and know-how at Chevron’s refineries in order to convert Ensyn’s RTP liquids produced from a variety of non-food cellulosic biomass feedstocks into blendstocks for transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel.

Website.