POET ranked #4 of “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy”

Biofuels Digest today released its latest “50 Hottest Companies in Bioenergy” list, and POET came out ranked #4.

It’s a ranking determined by voters with experience in bioenergy and subscribers to the publication, so it’s a special honor to be recognized by peers as a “hot” company. POET was unique in its inclusion as the top large-scale ethanol producer working with grain and cellulose.

POET reached some notable milestones over the past year in the areas of cellulosic ethanol, new products and green technology.

1. Cellulosic ethanol advancement (Project LIBERTY):

- Approved for a $105 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for Project LIBERTY construction

- Completed the first commercial-scale biomass harvest of 56,000 tons for cellulosic ethanol in Emmetsburg, Iowa and commenced the second harvest

- Built a 22-acre biomass stack yard at the Project LIBERTY site with work continuing this fall

2. Developed new products:

- Branded zein product “Inviz™,” which can be used as a gum base or in films, packaging, adhesives, coatings, glazes and more

- Branded corn oil “Voilà!™,” which is being sold to biodiesel producers. Plan to install technology to more POET plants, with a potential of enough corn oil to supply feedstock for 50 million gallons of biodiesel per year.

3. Green technology:

- Installed POET’s Total Water Recovery system to more POET plants, for a total of 18 plants today. The system has reduced overall water use by more than 650 million gallons of water per year over 2009 baseline. The company-wide average water use per gallon of ethanol is now at 2.6

- Installed a waste heat recovery system that saves energy in POET Biorefining – Caro (Mich.).

 

Technorati Tags: POET,ethanol,cellulosic,green,zein,corn oil

Freedom Film Tour coming to Sioux Falls

Documentary film-makers Josh and Rebecca Tickell have followed up their Sundance award-winning film “Fuel” with a new documentary that looks at America’s need to break its reliance on oil through the use of alternative solutions including ethanol.

Their new film, “Freedom,” outlines the clear dangers of remaining an oil-based society and steps viewers through current and coming alternatives. One of those alternatives is ethanol, and the pair spent some time in South Dakota interviewing farmers, fuel station owners and POET CEO Jeff Broin, among others.

The Tickells bring their “Freedom Film Tour” to Sioux Falls, SD this Monday for a special viewing at Augustana College. The Freedom Bus (which runs on ethanol and includes 19 solar panels and a mobile learning lab) will be at the school outside the Morrison Commons from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The film will air at 7 p.m. in the Kresge Recital Hall. The directors will be on hand as well.

I’ve seen parts of the film, and it’s pretty moving stuff. If you don’t know much about the potential of renewable fuel, it’s a great introduction. And if you already know, it will still inspire you.

Those who aren’t able to get to Sioux Falls should check out the tour schedule to see when it’s coming your way.

Technorati Tags: ethanol,Freedom,documentary,alternative fuel,oil

Conservation Biomass

At the America's Grasslands Conference in Sioux Falls this week, I was joined by Steve Apfelbaum, head scientist of The Earth Partners, to announce the launch of Conservation Biomass. Working together, our organizations aim to develop a source biomass that comes from restored marginal lands and is used to produce power. The ultimate goal is to make that biomass cost competitive with current power sources while delivering real environmental benefits.

The conservation biomass will initially be delivered to POET Biorefining - Chancellor, a 100 million gallon per year grain ethanol production facility in Chancellor, S.D. That facility is powered by landfill gas from the Sioux Falls landfill and a solid fuel boiler, where the biomass will be burned. Eventually, we intend to use it as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol.

We made the announcement at the America's Grasslands Conference because we wanted to seek out the expertise of those who are managing grasslands and restoring native prairies. Steve and I spoke during lunch on the first day of the conference and you can watch our speeches here or on POET TV.

For more information on Conservation Biomass, check out our press release and this news story from Ethanol Producer Magazine. Also, be sure to visit the web site of The Earth Partners.

POET at the America's Grasslands Conference

This week Sioux Falls is hosting the America's Grasslands Conference and POET is a sponsor. We hosted a tour of our corporate headquarters today for a handfull of attendees. We showed them some grasses from the EcoSun Prairie Farm that were in a fermentation study and talked about the potential of cellulosic ethanol from grasses.

Tomorrow, I will speak at the lunch about a new project POET is working on called conservation biomass. I also plan to hang out at the conference most of Tuesday and Wednesday and will share my thoughts on this blog later in the week. Stay tuned!

Ask POET Episode 7: What's the best source of Biomass?

In the seventh episode of Ask POET, we received the following question from Carla:

Which plant residues are best for biofuel usage? I have read corn stover and straw. Do you have a list with best in order and a demographic of where they are grown in the US? Secondly, which agricultural crops would be best for biofuel usage? Again, where in the US are they grown and which ones, in order of priority usage?

That's a lot to answer in one interview, but if anyone can do it, it's Adam Wirt. Adam is Regional Biomass Coordinator at POET and he spoke with Ask POET host Nathan Schock. Here's episode 7:

To learn more about our work, visit our web pages on POET Biomass and cellulosic ethanol. If you want to follow Adam's work, he regularly blogs on our Project LIBERTY Blog.

Ask POET is a monthly program on POET TV where we answer the public's questions about ethanol and the role that we, as the largest producer, play in that industry. If you'd like to ask a question for a future episode, leave a comment below or email your question to askpoet@poet.com.

EPA & USDA Chiefs hear about Biofuel Innovations

POET Chairman & CEO Jeff Broin participated in a discussion with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday about the biofuels industry. The discussion was held at the Newton, Iowa office of Renewable Energy Group (REG) and included Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE).

Prior to the discussion, each of the three biofuel companies gave a brief presentation. Becker talked about GPRE's work on algae and Broin spent a good portion of his time on corn oil and cellulosic ethanol. Here are the slides that Broin presented:

POET USDA/EPA Presentation

View more presentations from POET

According to press reports, Jackson said that biofuels is about the innovation. AgriTalk has complete audio of the Vilsack/Jackson press conference. Lots of photos from Joanna Schroeder here. A joint response from POET, REG and GPRE can be found on our web site: Biodiesel, ethanol industry leaders applaud USDA, EPA for supporting renewable fuels.

POET Biomass Kickoff

On Tuesday, we held a Biomass Kickoff at the future construction site of Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, Iowa. We've posted a lot of information from the event over on the Project LIBERTY blog and the speeches are on POET TV. You can also watch them here:

Talking to the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce

Today, I was invited to talk to the Business Leadership Council of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. It was a fun group that asked a lot of questions and I enjoyed the opportunity to chat with them. I gave a brief presentation about our company, our work with the City of Sioux Falls and our future development plans. You can view the presentation here:

Sioux Falls Chamber Business Leadership Council

View more presentations from Nathan Schock.

Revolution. Resolution.

A new decade, a new year, a new issue of Vital. The winter 2010 issue of Vital has made it's appearance in mailboxes across the country. With stories featuring the future of ethanol it's sure to be a great read to start out 2010!

Highlights for this issue include a new engine technology that will optimize the use of ethanol and the history of the POET Biorefinery that will become one of the first in the world to produce cellulosic ethanol at a commercial scale.

This issue also rounds out a three-part series on the potential of corn. A Barrel of Corn describes several uses of how corn will go even further to displace the use of foreign oil.

Check out the stories online on the Vital website where you can also subscribe to receive the printed version quarterly.

Inbicon Visit

We visited Inbicon this morning. Their impressive demonstration cellulosic ethanol plant is located a little over an hour west of Copenhagen. Pictured here with Jeff are Inbicon and Novozymes executives and representatives from Brazil and China. POET and Inbicon can both attest that cellulosic ethanol is here and now.

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