Vereniums Biofuels Development Program: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

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Vereniums Biofuels Development ProgramRecent
Progress and Future Prospects

• GOVERNORS CONFERENCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
• LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY -- OCTOBER 1, 2009

John B. Howe Vice President, Public Affairs
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Presentation overview

• Commercializing biofuels remains an urgent US
  priority despite (or because of?) the financial
  meltdown.
• Technology commercialization a six-stage
  paradigm
• Overview of Vereniums process technology and
  technical progress at Jennings, LA demonstration
  facility
• Vereniums plans for technology commercialization
  (focus on partnership, geography, feedstock)
• Sustainable biofuels production concluding
  thoughts
• QA

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US Oil Import Dependence An Ongoing Threat

• Heavy Toll on US Economy and Competitiveness
• High absolute cost (oil imports reached 650B in
  2008)
• Balance of trade oil reached 80 of monthly
  trade deficit in 2Q08!
• Mounting Environmental Impact
• Impacts from oil production are intensifying in
  frontier areas
• 21st C carbon constraints will force sharp GHG
  emission reductions
• The Looming Threat of Peak Oil and Eventual
  Depletion
• US peak of discoveries ca. 1930 presaged peak
  production in 1970
• Global peak of discoveries in 1960s points to an
  early 21c peak
• Global Security Implications
• Competition for oil resources has driven many
  20th-21st C conflicts

Biofuels are the most viable near-term
alternative liquid fuel
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New Technology Commercialization ParadigmA
Six-Stage Process

• The Eureka Moment
• Bench-scale proof of concept (in lab)
• Pilot-scale proof of technical feasibility
  (integrated process but without focus on overall
  economics)
• Demonstration-scale (complete facility, large
  enough to validate commercial-scale economic
  assumptions)
• Proto-commercial (first of a kind further
  process refinements and cost-out measures are
  pursued)
• Nth plant (technology and economics are mature)

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Vereniums process getting to cellulosic ethanol
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Vereniums Jennings, LA Demonstration Plant

• Privately-financed, 84M facility among first
  in nation, largest in world
• Completed in Spring 2008 multi-feedstock
  capability, 1.4MGY capacity
• Process optimization underway to support
  commercial project design

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The Verenium Production Process Delivery and
Storage
Once delivered to site, we have a well understood
process for managing the bagasse pile
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The Verenium Production ProcessSpecialized,
Crop-Specific Handling Prep
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The Verenium Production ProcessFirst-stage
Hydrolysis of C5 Sugar Stream

• Dilute acid steam explosion hydrolyzes
  hemicellulose to 5 carbon sugars and produces a
  cellulose cake
• Utilize off-the-shelf technology from pulp and
  paper industry optimized for our process

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The Verenium Production ProcessLiquid / Solid
Separation

• Hydrolyzed bagasse (mixture of C5 sugar syrup and
  cellulose fiber) sent to liquid/solid separation
  system where C5 sugar syrup is washed and
  separated from cellulose fiber
• C5 syrup sent to C5 Fermentation process
• Washed cellulose (C6 cake) sent to C6
  fermentation process

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The Verenium Production Process Fermentation of
Mixed Sugars

• Two organisms for fermentation
• V5 for C5 fermentation
• V6 for C6 fermentation
• Saccharification of cellulose by enzymes produced
  on-site

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The Verenium Production ProcessDistillation and
Stillage Processing
C5 and C6 beers blended and stored in a beer
well, then run through traditional three-stage
distillation process (stripping, rectification,
and dehydration) to produce fuel grade ethanol
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Verenium-BP Partnership
Brings together entrepreneurial innovation and
technology know-how of Verenium and established
global engineering expertise and operations
experience of BP to significantly accelerate
commercial development plans
Agronomics Technology
Development Operations
Marketing
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Commercial Development Plans

• Near-term focus on US Gulf Coast
• Plan to position six projects for financial
  close, 2010-2012
• Ultimately national / global play
• Commercial sites in development
• Grass/energy cane/bagasse
• Local agricultural partners
• Good logistical interfaces
• Some co-located
• Three (100 acre) energy crop plantations
• Energy cane and sorghum
• Expand to 17k acres in 2 years
• Validation platform for growers

Commercial sites
Energy crop sites
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Highlands Ethanol Project Overview

• Verenium / BP Partnerships First
  Commercial-Scale, Next-Generation Cellulosic
  Ethanol Production Facility
• Located in Brighton, Highlands County
• 36MGY Capacity to meet needs of S. Florida fuels
  market (facing 10 blend mandate)
• Growing Services w/ Lykes Bros. on 20,000
  farmable acres of Lykes 335,000 acre ranch
• 350M capital investment, generating 140
  permanent jobs (production/agriculture) and over
  400 temporary construction jobs

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Feedstock Plan Purpose-Grown Canes Grasses

• Sufficient biomass available in the U.S. to more
  than meet RFS demand
• Energy cane among the highest yielding
  agricultural feedstocks

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CEtOH favorable energy input and GHG emission
profile compared to gasoline grain ethanol
Fossil energy requirements of different fuels
Feedstocks and GHG profile
19 Reduction
19 Reduction
1.23
28 Reduction
28 Reduction
Fossil BTU
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
52 Reduction
52 Reduction
0.74
78 Reduction
78 Reduction
86 Reduction
86 Reduction
0.1
Fuel
Energy used
Corn ethanol
Biomass
Fossil fuels
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Sustainable Biofuels Production Will Require High
Yield, Dedicated Energy Crops

• To avert land use food vs. fuel concerns, we
  must focus on limiting the footprint by raising
  biofuels yield per acre through the use of
  next-generation biofuels technology
• 1G yields are a function of corn yields per acre
  (160 bushels x 2.8gal 400 gallons per acre
  with room for some gains)
• 2G biofuels from high-yield crops (20 dry tons)
  x (90 gal/ton) 1800 gallons per acre a gain
  of 4 to 5 times per acre!
• 2G technologies offer the potential for much
  higher energy gain, carbon reduction, and lower
  fertilizer use
• Only by combining the right feedstocks, lands and
  conversion technologies can we achieve the
  results we need more food, more
  fuel, with lower carbon emissions!

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Thank You! Questions? john.howe_at_verenium.com www.
verenium.com