Renewable fuel company LS9 announced the acquisition of an existing production facility in Okeechobee, Florida, that will be retrofitted to accommodate LS9’s fermentation process for converting raw materials into transportation fuels and chemicals.
LS9 is currently producing biodiesel at its pilot plant in South San Francisco. The new Okeechobee facility will allow LS9 to move its technology from pilot capabilities to commercial demonstration scale production in 2010.
The project is designed to enable the production of 50,000-100,000 gallons of biodiesel by late-2010. The facility is intended to validate the commercial viability of LS9’s UltraClean Diesel technology before moving to full-scale commercial production.
LS9 says the product is is the only finished diesel directly produced by fermentation of renewable raw materials in a single step. The proprietary one-step alleviates additional production costs. LS9 genetically engineers microorganisms to produce fuels with desired properties such as cetane, volatility, oxidative stability and cold-flow. The company says its biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 85% compared to conventional diesel.
"The new facility will allow LS9 to demonstrate that our one-step manufacturing process is ready and capable of bringing low-cost, low-carbon fuels to market while creating biofuels jobs in the Okeechobee area," Bill Haywood, CEO of LS9, said.
In addition to demonstration scale equipment, the new facility will house lab and pilot scale operations that LS9 will use to test and integrate cellulosic materials such as wood chips and agricultural waste into its production process.
LS9 anticipates 15-20 operations jobs will be created throughout the demonstration period alone. The project is also expected to generate approximately 30-50 construction jobs over the six month retrofit period, as well as preserving job opportunities in the Okeechobee region through the company’s of use local suppliers and contractors.
LS9 was founded in 2005 and Chevron Technology Ventures, Flagship Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners have provided funding to date. The company has a strategic partnership with Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).
Loading...