01/31/08 - Lignol Energy Corporation announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Lignol Innovations Inc., has been awarded up to US$30 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a commercial demonstration cellulosic ethanol plant. The DOE has approved a funding application submitted by Lignol Innovations for a proposed plant which is planned to be operated by Suncor Energy Inc. which owns and operates a major refinery in Commerce City, Colorado.

"We believe our successful application for DOE funding further validates the commercial potential of our unique biorefining process," said Ross MacLachlan, President and CEO of Lignol Energy Corporation. "Through its cellulosic ethanol and biofuels funding program, the DOE is seeking projects that demonstrate potential to rapidly move to commercial-scale using breakthrough technologies, a sound business strategy, and collaboration between industry, universities, and the DOE's national laboratories. We look forward to advancing this project with support from the DOE and our industry partners."

Lignol and Suncor will work together to finalize the site specific plans and engineering and to determine the optimum plant location in order to leverage Suncor's Colorado-based marketing and operating capabilities. Suncor has a number of suitable properties in Colorado for this development, including Commerce City. Lignol and Suncor have yet to consider all of the details with respect to the final funding agreement and the determination of final dates for construction, however the DOE funding requires that the plant must be completed by 2012. Once completed, the plant is expected to produce in excess of two million gallons per year of cellulosic ethanol, plus biochemical co-products, including High Purity-Lignin.

Suncor will be the operator of the plant and the exclusive buyer of all of the ethanol produced. Plant capacity is expected to be 100 tonnes per day of hard and soft wood feedstock. Lignol Innovations' proprietary solvent pretreatment process, integrated with saccharification, fermentation and product recovery processes also has the capability to process agricultural residues and other feedstocks.

In May 2007, the DOE announced that it will provide up to US$200 million, over five years to support the development of small-scale cellulosic biorefineries in the United States, under its cellulosic ethanol and biofuels funding program. Lignol Innovations announced that it had submitted a formal application to the DOE in August 2007 for a grant of up to US$30 million.

The DOE's announcement represents the first round of funding awarded as part of the DOE's small-scale biorefinery funding program. Through this funding initiative, the DOE intends to support projects to develop biorefineries at ten percent of commercial scale that produce liquid transportation fuels such as ethanol, as well as bio-based chemicals and bioproducts used in industrial applications.

Building on President Bush's goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive by 2012, these ten-percent of commercial-scale biorefineries will use a wide variety of feedstocks and test novel conversion technologies to provide data necessary to bring online full-size, commercial-scale biorefineries. Successful applicants are expected to have their projects operational within three to four years of DOE funding approval.