The company expects the project to commence production of cellulosic ethanol by December 2012.
According to ZeaChem, the core process of the biorefinery has been commissioned and sugar feedstocks fermentation was replicated in 40,000ga tanks, exceeding the projected targets.
The core process enables acetic acid and ethyl acetate production, used in paints, lacquers and consumer goods.
With a financing of $25m under the Integrated Biorefinery program from the US Department of Energy, the company added process components to the core facility to use locally-sourced biomass such as wood and wheat straw.
Additionally, ZeaChem has closed series C financing totaling $25m in new equity for business expansion and commercial deployment, which included new investors such as Japan-based multi-national trading firm ITOCHU and Australia’s global investment banking and financial services firm Macquarie.
ZeaChem president and CEO Jim Imbler said that ITOCHU and Macquarie have established track records in co-developing energy projects worldwide.
"These new international partners provide us with a foundation to expand the company’s operations globally," Imbler added.
