INEOS Bio Selected for $50 Million U.S. Department of Energy Grant

The U.S. Department of Energy announced it has selected INEOS Bio and its partner, New Planet Energy, for a $50 million dollar grant for its advanced bioenergy facility in Indian River County, Florida.

The grant was announced jointly by DOE Secretary Steven Chu and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. The facility will be the first to use INEOS Bioʼs advanced BioEnergy technology, the worldʼs leading feedstock flexible technology for production of both bioethanol and renewable power.   

The INEOS New Planet BioEnergy Joint Venture will own and operate the commercial facility.  It will produce eight million gallons of third generation bioethanol per year from renewable biomass including yard, wood and vegetative wastes.  The facility will also generate clean renewable power for export to the Florida market.  This investment will
bring clean tech employment to the Treasure Coast region of Florida, creating approximately 120 construction jobs over the next two years and 40-50 full time jobs.   

In commenting on the grant, INEOS Bio CEO Peter Williams highlighted the benefits of the INEOS Bio technology:  “This breakthrough technology will substantially reduce net greenhouse gas emissions from cars and energy generation. Not only does it reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, but it also breaks the link between food crops and bioethanol production.  The ability to make fuel from agricultural waste and municipal solid waste opens up a whole new avenue to achieving sustainable energy independence.”  Added Williams, “We appreciate the continued support of the DOE as we commercialize this world-class technology in the U.S.”   

Commenting on the announcement, W.L. “Tex” Carter, Chief Executive Officer of New Planet Energy, said: “We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Energy for its endorsement of this world-changing technology.  We intend to move forward to achieve full commercial production at the facility by late 2011.”  

The INEOS Bio process is an efficient, affordable and flexible conversion technology. At the heart of the INEOS Bio technology is a patented anaerobic fermentation step, through which naturally occurring bacteria convert gases derived directly from biomass into bio-ethanol. The process supports high recycling and high landfill diversion rates. Unlike other technologies that rely on one primary source of feedstock, the INEOS Bio process can produce bioenergy from numerous feedstocks, including forestry waste, agricultural waste, sustainable energy crops, construction waste and municipal solid waste.  This feedstock flexibility allows facilities to be built anywhere that a renewable biomass feedstock is available, providing good jobs and locally sourced energy for urban as well as rural communities.