GreenField Ethanol announces the launch of G2Biochem

G2 BioChem is unlocking the future - making next generation ethanol a commercial reality

TORONTO, May 9 /PRNewswire/ - GreenField Ethanol announced the launch of G2Biochem, a collaborative partnership that will acquire, validate and commercialize GreenField's innovative patented process technology. This technology will make next generation ethanol a commercial reality. G2Biochem is backed by major international partners and collaborators including Andritz and Novozymes. This innovative technology has received the support of a number of Federal and Ontario programs and agencies including, Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), Innovation Development Fund (IDF), Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (SCA) and Center for Research & Development in the Bio-economy (CRIBE).

After thousands of trials, G2 BioChem's innovative and versatile technology has successfully processed a variety of biomass feedstocks including agricultural residues (corn cobs, stover & bagasse), energy crops (sorghum & miscanthus), as well as woody biomass (poplar).

G2 BioChem is unlocking the future. "G2 BioChem's technology is feedstock agnostic and optimizes next-generation ethanol yields using all available sugars. Also, our process technology results in a low-cost-per-litre, which is essential to the viable commercialization of next generation ethanol," said Barry Wortzman, President of G2BioChem and Vice President, Business Development, GreenField Ethanol. "We are most grateful to our partners, collaborators and Federal and Ontario government supporters, without whom we would not have been able to achieve what we have," added Wortzman. To successfully commercialize its process technology G2 BioChem is continuing to reach out to partners and collaborators for support and input.

"G2 BioChem's advanced biofuels technology has the potential to fundamentally change the burgeoning renewable fuels & biochemical industries - while protecting our environment and boosting Ontario's economy," said Glen Murray, Minister, Ontario Research & Innovation.

G2Biochem is backed by major international partners & collaborators including Andritz and Novozymes. "As a collaborative partner, Novozymes' goal is to enable and facilitate the realization of cellulosic ethanol production at commercial scale, as quickly as possible; and in our opinion, this technology is leading the way to accomplishing that objective," said Cynthia Bryant, Global Business Development, Novozymes.

"Andritz is excited to be partnering on this initiative, and to contribute its expertise in process equipment technology for the commercial scale up of the process," said Bertil Stromberg, Vice President, BioFuels, Andritz.

G2 BioChem is poised to demonstrate and validate its unique process technology on a pre-commercial, continuous scale. Construction date for phase one of the demonstration plant is scheduled for this summer.

About G2Biochem

G2 BioChem is unlocking the future. G2 BioChem is committed to making next generation transportation fuel a commercial reality. G2 BioChem's innovative and versatile technology has successfully processed a variety of biomass feedstocks including agricultural residues (corn cobs, stover & bagasse), energy crops (sorghum & miscanthus), as well as woody biomass (poplar).

G2 BioChem is a collaborative partnership that will acquire, validate and commercialize GreenField Ethanol's patented process technology. G2Biochem is also backed by major international partners & collaborators including Andritz and Novozymes. Located in Chatham, Ontario, G2 BioChem will commence construction of its cellulose demonstration plant in 2011.

About GreenField Ethanol

GreenField Ethanol Inc. is Canada's leading ethanol producer. The company produces 600 million litres a year of ethanol at its plants in Johnstown, Chatham and Tiverton, Ontario and Varennes, Quebec. GreenField is a principal partner in G2 BioChem committed to the development of biochemical process technology to produce cellulosic ethanol. Read more at www.greenfieldethanol.com

About the Ministry of Research and Innovation

Launched in 2005, the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) is making innovation a driving force of Ontario's economy and showcasing Ontario, nationally and internationally.

MRI is helping to transition Ontario into an idea- and innovation-based economy to create and grow new industries, new jobs and prosperous communities. In addition to our funding programs, we administer the Ontario Network of Excellence, which works directly with entrepreneurs, academia and businesses to build globally focused, investor-ready companies. We support researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses: innovators in all stages of the pipeline to help bring unique products and services to market.

From research hospitals to universities, entrepreneurs to venture capitalists, businesses to government agencies, we're supporting the best ideas in Ontario and building relationships between all the participants in Ontario's innovation ecosystem. These relationships will allow us to leverage Ontario's greatest resources: its people, and their ideas.

About Novozymes

Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. Together with customers across a broad array of industries Novozymes creates tomorrow's industrial biosolutions, improving its customers' business and the use of our planet's resources.

With over 700 products used in 130 countries, Novozymes' bioinnovations increase industrial performance and safeguard the world's resources by offering superior and sustainable solutions for tomorrow's ever-changing marketplace. Read more at www.novozymes.com.

About Andritz

Andritz:

Andritz is a world leader in the design and manufacturing of large equipment with revenues above 5 billion Cad, having over 100 service, sales and manufacturing centers around the world and over 14000 employees worldwide. Andritz is composed of mainly five divisions for which we are also leaders in technology:

• Hydro Power
• Pulp and Paper
• Metals
• Environment and Process
• Feed and BioFuel

Over the last 5 years, we have intensified our activities in the bio-chemical pre-treatment area and have developed pre-treatment systems for steam-explosion/advanced steam-explosion & dilute acid hydrolysis, beside our activities in the thermo-chemical area with gasification, biomass boilers, etc.

Pilot Units & Demo Systems:

Andritz has been building pilot & demo systems for many years (about 100 units & system in the last 25 years) for the Pulp & Paper and MDF industry using wood and non-wood raw materials like forest and agri-residual, bagasse, leather, plastic residual, etc. With some modifications, these systems are now also being used to provide the R&D platform to investigate different wood species, energy-crops (like Sorghum or Switchgrass), forest and agricultural residues such as corn cobs, corn-stover, etc. to be used as feed-stock for biofuel or bio-chemicals.

Commercial Scale Equipment:

The equipment for the material handling, pre-treatment and liquid solids separation operations for lignocellulosic biofuel can be easily transferred from other divisions where scale-up to viable commercial plants is well known for Andritz. The Pulp & Paper and MDF industries are handling large quantities of biomass every day so there is little risk associated with equipment scale-up. Andritz has equipment operating at huge commercial production rates in excess of 9600 dry tons/day of feedstock and can be easily adapted to the lignocellulosic ethanol industry.

SOURCE GreenField Ethanol