Verenium And Marubeni Advance The Development Of Cellulosic Ethanol Facilities In Asia
Cambridge, MA - Verenium Corporation , a pioneer in the development of next-generation cellulosic ethanol and high-performance specialty enzymes, and Marubeni Corporation recently announced that, pursuant to the terms of their joint development agreement, they are continuing to advance the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol projects utilizing Verenium's proprietary technology in Asia with the opening of a three million-liter-per-year plant in Saraburi, Thailand. Marubeni and Tsukishima Kikai Co., Ltd. have already incorporated Verenium's technology into BioEthanol Japan's 1.4 million-liter-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant in Osaka, which utilizes construction wood waste as a feedstock.
"We are very pleased to see our proprietary cellulosic technology continue to serve as a template for the commercialization of next-generation ethanol in Asia," said Carlos A. Riva, President and Chief Executive Officer at Verenium. "As in the U.S., we believe cellulosic ethanol derived from non-food biomass is going to play a critical role in the global energy mix, and we look forward to further partnering with Marubeni, as we continue to advance additional strategic corporate partnership opportunities, to expand our technology's reach and potential around the globe."
The cellulosic plant in Thailand is co-located with a facility that will produce ethanol from sugar-cane derived sucrose, which is widely abundant in the region. Sugar cane bagasse, the biomass residue from the sugar cane plant, will be the primary source of feedstock for the cellulosic facility, which will be converted into ethanol using Verenium's process technology."
"We are very excited to see a second cellulosic ethanol facility move forward, as alternative, cost-competitive, and environmentally sound fuel sources are critically needed in Asia," said Mr. Toshiya Nagata, Ethanol Manager of Industrial Machinery Department. "We expect that our learnings from the Osaka facility, coupled with Verenium's experience in the U.S., will help to make this plant a rapid commercial success as we look to broaden the footprint and opportunity for cellulosic ethanol in key markets across Asia."
SOURCE: Verenium Corporation