BP flexes cellulosic biofuel biceps

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2009/02/bp_flexes_cellulosic_biofuel_b.html

BP flexes cellulosic biofuel biceps - February 20, 2009

http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7051362">BP is teaming up with http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=81345&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=1257761">Verenium to build a commercial-scale cellulosic biofuels plant that produces 36 million US gallons of ethanol a year, though the first drops won't emerge from pipes until 2012. It's one of the largest cellulosic plants to be announced thus far (along with Mascoma's 40 million gallon http://www.mascoma.com/news/pdf/Mascoma%20DOE-Michigan%20funding%20announcement%20joint%20release%20FINAL%2010%207%2008.pdf">proposal for Michigan); Reuters has a http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN1952406520090219">helpful list of all open and planned US cellulosic plants, for comparison.

The scale of these grown-up cellulosic plants seems staggering: it will take 20,000 acres (8,000) hectares of sorghum grass planted across Highlands County, South Florida, to feed the behemoth. Such plants can't get much larger, or it won't be practical to grow all the feedstock. A federal mandate, the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, requires fuel wholesalers to use 1 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol by 2013, but analyst Ron Oster tells http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/2009/02/20/crop-circles-just-how-big-will-biofuels-become/#comments">Environmental Capital (a Wall Street Journal blog) that "There is no way at all that will happen."

Verenium say they are hoping to produce fuel at $2 a gallon - on a par with gasoline - though the building cost alone is estimated to be between $250 and $300 million. And the two companies said they planned to build another full-scale facility in the Gulf Coast.

"It signals that the most sophisticated players in the industry are looking at this ... it's not just curious science but a real contributor," Carlos Riva, chief executive of Verenium, told reporters (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8366004">The Guardian). So far the partners have put $45 million into a 50-50 joint venture company.