BIOMASS update ENERKEM BEGINS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION IN EDMONTON Waste-to-biofuels and chemi-cals producer Enerkem Inc. has raised $152.6 million and initi-ated the production of biometh-anol from non-recyclable house-hold garbage at the Enerkem Alberta Biofuels full-scale facility in Edmonton, Alta. “I must say a huge thank you to our financial partners, employees, as well as the City of Edmonton and Alberta In-novates – Energy and Environ-ment Solutions who believed in us and have accompanied us while we were reaching this pivotal operational milestone,” said Vincent Chornet, president and CEO of Enerkem. “We are about to fundamentally trans-form the waste industry over the coming years and allow energy and chemical groups ac-cess to a new and competitive source of renewable carbon.” The financing is com-prised of a recently accessed $29 million debt facility from Integrated Asset Management Corp.’s Private Debt Group as well as $50 million in private placements from current in-vestors and C$73.6 million of debt from two other lenders, closed over the past year. This funding will be used for the product expansion of the Ed-monton facility and the com-pany’s global growth. ATLANTIC BIODIESEL UP AND RUNNING IN WELLAND Atlantic Biodiesel officially opened its state-of-the-art re-newable fuel facility located in Welland, Ont. “This is an important day for Atlantic Biodiesel and for the greater Welland community,” said Michael Paszti, chief oper-ating officer of Atlantic Biodiesel. “Our world class facility is up and running. We are excited to be a part of this community and to support the local economy.” The new Atlantic Biodiesel facility is one of the largest biodiesel facilities in North America and produces 170 million litres (45 million gal-lons) per year of renewable, clean-burning biodiesel and 15 million litres (4 million gallons) per year of high-grade glycerin. The facility is strategically located within close proximity of rail infra-GEVO, BUTAMAX SETTLE LAWSUIT A multi-year legal battle over patent issues between Gevo Inc. and Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC has been re-solved. According to Bloomberg Business, the agreement will see Gevo focus on isobutha-nol bio jet fuel development while Butamax will focus on isobuthanol fuels for blend-ing with gasoline for use in vehicles. Also as part of the agreement, both companies have agreed to license their patents to each other. Both companies produce isobuthanol from corn waste. Both companies had been fighting over patents for the technology for the past four years. structure, providing for stor-age and shipping ability to a range of North American markets. “The City of Welland is thrilled to welcome Atlantic Biodiesel to the community,” stated Welland mayor Frank Campion. “The facility will bring approximately 25 direct jobs and significant indirect business to the area. Every job is valued and needed in our community. I strongly en-courage the federal, provin-cial, and local governments to join me in supporting this local company as they work to bring jobs and economic prosperity to Welland.” Astec sells its first pellet plant Astec Industries, Inc. has entered into an agreement to build, deliver and install the first production line of a new turnkey wood pellet production facility. The $30-million agreement with Highland Pellets, LLC includes the option to add additional production lines, related equipment and installation services, which could bring the total order amount to $143 million. Astec expects to deliver the first production line and related equipment no later than early 2016. Although Astec has received an order and a down payment on the first $30 million portion of the facility, the remaining $113 million worth of goods and services is optional. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015 6 Canadian BIOMASS
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