Iogen technology powers new Brazilian biofuels mill

A biofuel facility powered with technology developed by Ottawa-based Iogen Corp has opened in an expanded Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Piracicaba Brazil. The US$105-million biofuel facility is the first commercial deployment of Iogen's enzymatic hydrolysis technology for the production of commercial quantities of second generation biofuel using bagasse (fibrous matter that derived from sugarcane stalks). The facility is a joint venture between Iogen and Raiza, itself a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Cosan SA, a Brazilian ethanol company. The successful project follows Iogen's failed joint venture attempt with Royal Dutch Shell to construct an industrial-scale biofuel plant in southern Manitoba in 2012 (R$, May 22/12). Founded in 1974, privately held Iogen has spent more than $500 million on R&D and process demonstration of its technology. The firm previously attempted to tap into Sustainable Development Technology Canada's $500-million (SDTC) NextGen Biofuels Fund but was unsuccessful. The money has remained largely unused and was the focus of a call by the Forest Productions Association of Canada to loosen the fund's criteria to permit access by the forestry sector (R$, September 24/14)….