Target Markets | Fuel Ethanol
Stimulated by rising fuel costs, mounting concerns over fossil fuel contributions to global warming, and government mandates to lessen domestic dependency on foreign oil, the fuel ethanol market has become a strategic area for investment, plant building, process improvement, and research. There are 119 US plants producing about 6.1B gallons of fuel ethanol. Seven of these plants are being expanded and 86 more are under construction. The US goal is to produce 35B gallons of alternative fuels by 2017. Approximately, 97% of fuel ethanol is produced from corn, consuming about 16% of US corn production and driving up the cost of corn. If the 35B gallon goal is to be met within 10-years, the raw material for the production of fuel ethanol will have to migrate from corn to biomass (switchgrass, corn stover, wood chips, etc.). It is this conversion from corn to biomass that is the focus of major research and financial investment. However, there are many daunting technical obstacles in the path and the probability of over coming them in a timely manner is certainly well less than 100%.
iDiverse Competitive Advantage
With the research and investment communities focusing all their attention on solving the problems of using biomass, no one is trying to advance the corn-based fermentation process. If we can cost-effectively improve the ethanol yield from corn, yeast containing our genetic sequence can be rapidly implemented in all non-biomass ethanol plants. This would enhance manufacturing profits, increase ethanol production, and help cover potential shortfalls in US ethanol production if the conversion to biomass is delayed.
In addition, we believe that we can also play an even greater role in the production of fuel ethanol from biomass processes that use yeast or other cell types in the fermentation step. These processes are expected to be very harsh environments that will challenge the ability of cells to function optimally in them. We think that our technology will enable cells to withstand these stresses and help maximize ethanol yields.