Alternative Fuel Company demos newest equipment and technology

Atlanta – On July 23rd at Georgia Tech, Atlanta-based alternative fuel technology company, C2 Biofuels will demonstrate new pre-pilot plant equipment and technology which is enabling them to scale-up their efforts to produce cellulosic ethanol from Georgia’s pine trees.

“The introduction of this equipment and technology represents a significant milestone and recognizes over two years of applied research sponsored by our company at Georgia Tech and The University of Georgia (UGA),” said Roger Reisert, president and CEO of C2 Biofuels. “We have now moved forward from a laboratory setting into our first scale-up process which brings us one step closer to commercialization.”

The demonstration will feature a new reactor system, designed in collaboration with engineers at Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Institute, which will allow C2 to optimize the process of breaking down pine woodchips. The idea is to expose the cellulose, which is the largest component of all plant material.

The reactor process, or the actual breaking down of the pine tree, is the first step in C2’s biochemical method for producing cellulosic ethanol. “The new reactor is ten times larger than a laboratory reactor,” explained Reisert, “and allows superior process control to simulate a commercial reactor.”

The next steps following the reactor process involve breaking down the cellulose into simple sugars by using special enzymes and finally converting the simple sugars into ethanol. Dr. Joy Doran Peterson from UGA is currently working on perfecting these processes with new enzyme and fermentation methods which will also be showcased during the demonstrations.

C2 will work on this first major scale-up for approximately six to eight months and expects to “scale-up” again by beginning construction on their pilot plant during the first quarter of 2009. C2 has plans to build a demonstration facility located in rural Georgia in 2010 and the first commercial facility beginning in 2011 at the same site. “We plan on building at least five plants in the state,” said Reisert. He expects the commercial facility to produce 55 million gallons of ethanol a year and also generate over 25 megawatts of excess “green” power that will be available for export to the electrical grid.

C2’s progress in the production of cellulosic ethanol represents tremendous growth for a booming industry in Georgia. In just the last two years, over $750 million worth of energy-related projects started in the state. The state is poised for even more growth and well positioned to offer assistance to companies like C2 through the new Energy Innovation Center (EIC) in Atlanta and the Agriculture Innovation Center (AgIC) in Tifton. In fact, the Agriculture Innovation Center (AgIC) in Tifton connected C2 with matching research grant funds for the initial enzyme evaluation and a second grant to continue the scale up work.

“Roger, C2 Biofuels and our ongoing research at UGA and Georgia Tech have all together focused global attention on Georgia’s emerging biofuels industry,” said Bill Boone, director of AgIC. “With each successful milestone, C2 is paving the way for Georgia to capitalize on our unique agricultural ability to produce biomass, from trees to switchgrass to Ag byproducts.”

“Roger has been working day and night for many years to make today’s announcement a reality,” said Jill Stuckey, director of the EIC. “He has left no rock or in this case tree unturned finding answers to the complicated science of converting our southern pine trees into energy. The EIC employees look forward to assisting Roger and C2 Biofuels as they press forward with this important work.”

“The urgency to develop alternatives to high priced gasoline is crystal clear to everyone,” said Reisert. “I’m very happy to be working on a solution where we can grow, refine and consume an environmentally friendly fuel all within our state. This is a solution that provides an excellent use of an abundant and sustainable resource, provides great jobs and capital investment in rural areas, and keeps dollars we spend filling our gas tanks within our state. I call that a win-win-win!”

#

For more on C2 Biofuels and the demonstrations e-mail Roger Reisert rreisert@c2biofuels.com.

To learn about the Energy Innovation Center, go to energy.georgiainnovation.org; to learn about the Agriculture Innovation Center go to agriculture.georgiainnovation.org. For more information about Georgia’s Centers of Innovation, visit georgiainnovation.org.