Allotrope Partners LLC, Axens North America and Sumitomo Corp. of Americas have reached an agreement to develop a joint study for a commercial plant producing cellulosic bioethanol, utilising the Axens Futurol™ process, produced from woody biomass through Allotrope Cellulosic Development Co LLC (ACDC), a project develop-ment company based in California, US.
The project will use feedstock based on local Californian forest thinning materials and agricultural residues. These feedstocks in part come from the waste generated in large forest fire prevention activities to reduce risk of wildfires that have become a critical challenge in California in recent years.
This project will produce a commercial grade bioethanol, while at the same time contributing to the reduction of carbon released into the atmosphere from the wildfires that have severely impacted the environment and residents in California.
The parties are committed to develop a first project and then to continue expanding their cellulosic ethanol footprint within California, and to other locations all around North America, utilising local woody biomass materials to supply low-carbon biofuels into the North American market.
"Allotrope is excited to continue its efforts to develop a series of advanced biofuels projects in California in partnership with Sumitomo and Axens," noted Marc Stuart, CEO of Allotrope Partners LLC. "Axen's Futurol technology is ready for commercial scale roll out and Sumitomo will be a valuable partner across the entire project development process, from feedstock sourcing to the sale of final products into the markets."
Bioethanol is currently attracting attention in countries worldwide striving for carbon-neutral societies as a renewable energy source and as a feedstock for biofuels such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and bio-chemicals. Cellulosic bioethanol made from woody biomass is classified as ‘Advanced Bioethanol’ by the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) programme and ‘Cellulosic Fuel’ by the US EPA Renewable Fuel Standard, which has the potential to scale sustainably.
The three companies will be studying the possibility of an initial plant to produce about 60 000 t of bioethanol derived from local feed-stocks. The project shall consider carbon recycling initiatives that contribute to the realisation of a decarbonised society, such as car-bon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), internal energy production, and effective utilisation of residues from the fermentation pro-cess including renewable natural gas production.