US-based sustainable fuels company Edeniq has signed a five-year exclusive agreement with agriculture feedstock firm Pacific Ag to add cellulosic ethanol production base to existing biofuel facilities.
Under the terms of the agreement, the companies would work together to provide turnkey solution to integrate existing corn-based ethanol production facilities with an additional cellulosic ethanol production base.
Edeniq president and CEO Brian Thome said that the partnership has the potential to improve the commercial viability of cellulosic ethanol production in the US.
"By combining Edeniq’s bolt-on production technologies for corn ethanol plants with Pacific Ag’s agricultural biomass supply capabilities, we will provide the best turnkey solution for today’s producers to economically integrate cellulosic production into their existing facilities," added Thome.
According to industry reports, US agriculture and forest resources are estimated to have an annual production capacity of around one billion dry tons of biomass, which could cater to more than one-third of the current demand for transportation fuels.
Pacific Ag founder and CEO Bill Levy said, "This collaboration agreement brings together two companies at the forefront of solving a big risk factor to commercial production of cellulosic ethanol: getting biomass from the field to the plant with maximum reliability and efficiency and successfully converting that biomass at a low per gallon capital investment for existing production facilities.