ICM, Coskata Pair Up on Next-Step Ethanol

By Phyllis Jacobs Griekspoor, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

Feb. 7–Colwich-based ICM has entered a strategic alliance with Coskata, a developer of next-generation ethanol, to design and construct a commercial ethanol plant using Coskata’s biological fermentation technology.

ICM is North America’s leading ethanol plant design, engineering and support firm and is already engaged in cellulosic ethanol research. It recently received a $30 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to further that research and build a pilot scale plant at the St. Joseph, Mo., facility it operates with Lifeline Foods.

Illinois-based Coskata and ICM plan to speed up the commercialization of the Coskata process that will convert biomass into advanced biofuels from a number of renewable materials at a production cost of less than $1 a gallon, Bill Roe, president of Coskata, said in a news release.

Coskata and ICM expect the plant to open in late 2010, but a location has not been disclosed.

The Coskata process turns municipal solid waste, biomass or agricultural waste into ethanol. Coskata’s three-step conversion process, company officials said, significantly cuts carbon dioxide emissions and increases production efficiency.

“The process releases 84 percent less carbon dioxide than the manufacture of gasoline,” said spokeswoman Katie McLennan. “And the ethanol generated provides 7.7 times more energy than it takes to produce it.”

David Vander Griend, ICM’s president and chief executive, said ICM will continue its own research and development efforts, but is constantly evaluating promising technologies from other companies.

“It has always been ICM’s mission to help sustain agriculture through innovation,” Vander Griend said. “Coskata’s production process makes them a valuable ally.”

ICM was founded in 1995 and has more than 750 employees.

Reach P.J. Griekspoor at 316-268-6660 or at pgriekspoor@wichitaeagle.com.

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