Press Releases

POET announces new division devoted to the biofuels feedstocks of the future



Wednesday, June 17, 2009


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Feedstock supply and logistics, among the chief challenges to commercializing the production of biofuels from new feedstocks, will be a key focus of a new division at POET, the company announced today.

POET CEO Jeff Broin announced at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in Denver, Colo., the creation of POET Biomass, a division of POET devoted to managing harvest and transportation logistics for corn cobs – POET’s cellulosic feedstock – as well as waste wood and other feedstocks to be used for cellulosic ethanol and alternative energy projects at their production facilities.

POET Biomass is led by Scott Weishaar, POET’s Vice President of Commercial Development. “POET’s cellulosic ethanol goals depend on a steady supply of a reliable feedstock: corn cobs,” Weishaar said. “POET Biomass is here to make sure farmers have everything they need in order to play their important role in fueling our nation with both grain-based and cellulosic ethanol.”

Among the areas of focus for POET Biomass are:
- Cob collection/supply chain management
- Logistics for waste wood and engineered fuels as alternative power sources
- Additional feedstocks for future cellulosic ethanol production

POET’s pilot-scale plant in Scotland, S.D. is already producing cellulosic ethanol at a rate of approximately 20,000 gallons per year, and plans are on schedule for 25 million gallons per year of commercial production in Emmetsburg, Iowa in 2011, named Project LIBERTY. Photos of the pilot facility are available for publication at http://www.poet.com/news/showRelease.asp?id=147&year=2009&categoryid=0.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in May noted the economic benefit of using corn stover, which includes corn cobs, in making cellulosic ethanol.

“… corn stover was chosen as the most economical agricultural feedstock to be used to produce ethanol in order to meet the 16 [billion gallon] EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act) cellulosic biofuel requirement. We estimate that by 2022 greater than 400 million tons of corn stover could be produced. Approximately 82 million tons would be needed to produce 7.8 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel that our modeling projects to come from corn stover by 2022.” (Draft Regulatory Impact Analysis: Changes to Renewable Fuel Standard Program, page 17 http://www.epa.gov/oms/renewablefuels/420d09001.pdf)

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 20-year-old company produces more than 1.54 billion gallons of ethanol annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET recently started up a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in 2011. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

# # #

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and our Privacy Policy.
 
W