U.S.A. EPA approves Flint Hills Resources’ Iowa Falls plant for cellulosic ethanol

Edeniq, Inc., a leading cellulosic and biorefining technology company, announced the approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of Flint Hills Resources’ registration of its Iowa Falls, Iowa ethanol plant for cellulosic ethanol production using Edeniq’s technology. The plant’s capacity is 100 million gallons or 378 million litres per year (MGPY).

Once approved by EPA, customers are eligible to qualify cellulosic ethanol with D3 RINs, the RIN code for cellulosic biofuel, which are considered the most valuable in the RIN market. A Renewable Identification Number or RIN is a serial number assigned to a batch of biofuel for the purpose of tracking its production, use, and trading as required by the EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Once approved by the EPA, customers are eligible to qualify cellulosic gallons with D3 RINs, which are considered the most valuable in the RIN market.

“We are encouraged by this latest EPA approval, which enables another customer plant to add significant new value to its existing corn ethanol plant through our technology. We look forward to working with our existing and future customers to secure additional EPA approvals for cellulosic ethanol. We appreciate EPA’s continued diligent work to process the registration petitions in a timely manner,” said Edeniq President and CEO Brian Thome.

Iowa Falls is the fifth existing ethanol plant to receive approval from the EPA for cellulosic ethanol production using Edeniq’s pathway technology. The four existing ethanol plants that have previously received EPA approval are: Pacific Ethanol’s Stockton, Calif. plant; Flint Hills Resources’ Shell Rock, Iowa plant; Little Sioux Corn Processors’ Marcus, Iowa plant; and, Siouxland Energy Cooperative’s plant in Sioux Center, Iowa. Edeniq’s registered customers now total 500 MGPY of nameplate ethanol capacity.

The company said that its technology remains the lowest-cost solution for producing and measuring cellulosic ethanol from corn kernel fiber utilising existing fermenters at existing corn ethanol plants. Additional benefits of Edeniq’s technology include increases in corn oil production and greater overall ethanol yields.

“With the investment, partnership and success of existing corn ethanol plants like Flint Hills Resources, Edeniq is the clear market leader in its technology that is enabling—today—millions of gallons of EPA approved cellulosic ethanol to come online,” said Cam Cast, Edeniq’s chief operating officer. Edeniq, which is headquartered in Visalia, Calif., currently sells or licenses its technologies to ethanol plants in the United States.