Inbicon, G-Team partner to market technology

Web exclusive posted August 29, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. CST

Danish biofuels company Inbicon announced Aug. 27 that it has partnered with G-Team, a U.S.-based marketing and brand building company, to market and license its cellulosic pretreatment technology in North America. In addition, G-Team will find collaborators interested in creating sustainable, carbon-neutral energy parks.

Inbicon is a subsidiary of Danish energy company DONG Energy. Its technology is used to pre-treat agricultural waste through a hydrothermal process, turning it into liquefied sugars ready for fermentation into alcohol. The pretreatment process reduces the amount on enzymes needed to produce ethanol, which can significantly reduce costs. According to Thomas Corle, G-Team founder, by pre-treating the fibers with heat and movement, the cellulosic structure is broken down enabling the use of fewer enzymes and speeding up the process of getting to the fermentation stage. Another benefit is that the technology uses less water to break down the cellulose than most comparable technologies, which can cut energy needs substantially throughout the production process.

Inbicon's technology design is flexible, allowing producers to use various feedstocks such as corn stover, rain straws, or other agricultural wastes. In addition, the technology can be used to supplement existing corn-based ethanol production facilities, or can be used to retrofit existing facilities.

Inbicon has been developing the technology since 2003, and currently uses it on a commercial-scale in Denmark. Corle said he is interested in the technology because it has been proven to work and is readily available to be put into commercial use now.

According to Niels Henriksen, Inbicon's president and chief executive officer, by December 2009 Inbicon will be prepared to showcase a large-scale 1.4 MMgy demonstration plant located at the Kalundborg Port to world leaders at the COP15 United Nation Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Demark.

In addition to marketing Inbicon's technology, the G-Team will also search for collaborators to create sustainable, carbon neutral energy parks that would provide renewable electricity, liquid biofuels, livestock feed and high-value foods. The G-Team has begun discussions with venture capitalists who are interested in the project.