NTR’s BioProcessAlgae To Unveil Phase I Algae Project
October 13 2009
NTR plc, the international renewable energy group, announces today that its algae investment, BioProcessAlgae, LLC, will unveil Phase I of its photobioreactor pilot project on 14th October at Green Plains Renewable Energy’s Shenandoah, Iowa ethanol plant. BioProcessAlgae has completed the installation of Phase I of the multi-phase pilot project and algae production has commenced at the plant. The Company’s research team will begin to collect production data over the next 120 days from the pilot project that will be instrumental in determining the scalability and functionality for future commercial deployment.
BioProcessAlgae was formed to develop photobioreactor technology for the growing and harvesting of algae. The objective of the pilot project is to determine scalability of its Grower Harvester™ technology for the use of algae as a natural carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology for carbon emitting facilities. If commercialized, BioProcessAlgae’s photobioreactor could be deployed at any carbon emitting plant effectively reducing their GHG emissions.
“We have directly linked the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the plant into our algae producing Grower Harvester™ technology and we believe this to be the first ever deployment of this type in the United States,” stated Tim Burns, Chief Executive Officer of BioProcessAlgae, LLC. “The objective of this multi-phase pilot project is to gather critical data to determine the scalability of our Grower Harvester™ technology as we look to commercialize it in the future. Our focus is to perfect the growing and harvesting of algae in an industrial process.”
“We are excited by the opportunities this technology offers to sequester the CO2 emitted at our ethanol plants,” said Todd Becker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Green Plains Renewable Energy. “Our plants have warm water, waste heat and CO2 which provide a perfect environment for the BioProcessAlgae Grower Harvester™ technology to be deployed. The algae produced have the potential to be used for advanced bio-fuel production, high quality animal feed or as biomass for energy production but our focus is solely on efficiently growing algae and sequestering carbon dioxide at this point. We firmly believe this technology has the potential to significantly help the environment and the ethanol industry.”
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About NTR plc
NTR plc, the international renewable energy group, builds and runs green energy and resource-sustaining businesses. Founded in 1978, NTR has evolved from being a developer and operator of infrastructure in Ireland to an international developer and operator of renewable energy (wind, solar and ethanol) and sustainable waste management businesses in the USA, UK, and Ireland. The company employs over 4,100 people.
About BioProcessAlgae, LLC.
BioProcessAlgae LLC is a joint venture between Green Plains Renewable Energy (NASDAQ: GPRE), water filtration group CLARCOR Inc. (NYSE: CLC), BioProcessH2O LLC and NTR plc. BioProcessAlgae was created to commercialize advanced photobioreactor technologies for the growing and harvesting of algal biomass.
About Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc.
Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) is North America’s fourth largest ethanol producer, operating six ethanol plants in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Tennessee with a combined expected operating capacity of 480 million gallons of ethanol per year. Green Plains also operates an independent third-party ethanol marketing service that currently provides marketing services to its affiliated plants as well as four third-party ethanol producers with expected operating capacity of 360 million gallons per year. Green Plains owns 51% of Blendstar, LLC, a Houston-based biofuel terminal operator with six facilities in five states. Green Plains’ agribusiness segment operates grain storage facilities and complementary agronomy, feed, and fuel businesses in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota.