Scion, Verenium study potential of wood waste

New Zealands (NZ) Crown Research Institute Scion and its partners are discussing the potential of producing ethanol from wood waste from forestry harvesting. They can produce ethanol for about NZ$1.40 (US$0.92) per liter and are planning to set up a pilot refinery by 2011 capable of producing two million liters per year (lpy) of fuel. By 2015, they hope to have a commercial plant producing 100 million lpy. This biofuel could then replace 50% of NZ’s imported petroleum by 2030. Scion is part of the New Zealand Lignocellulosic Bio-Ethanol Initiative in partnership with U.S.-based Verenium Corporation, AgResearch and Carter Holt Harvey, which began in May 2006. The initiative was recently awarded a NZ$5.4 million (US$3.55 million) grant by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to look at the viability of producing cellulosic ethanol from NZ’s pine forest resource. Verenium will bring its enzyme and fermentation technologies to the program and hopes to leverage the company’s existing facilities to accelerate commercialization timelines. Verenium’s process involves first breaking down wood waste into fermentable sugars, using acid or enzymatic hydrolysis and industrial enzymes. The sugars are then fermented into ethanol using various fermentation organisms. (August 27, 2008)