Mascoma JV, Frontier Renewable Resources, expects to break ground on 40-million-gallon/year cellulosic ethanol refinery in Kinross Township, Michigan, this year, be fully operational by 2013, says CEO, after project draws US$6.9M in funds

Bdebbie Garcia

LOS ANGELES , September 8, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Frontier Renewable Resources LLC expects to break ground on its commercial-scale biorefinery in Kinross Township, Michigan, this year, said the company’s chief, following news that the project had draw from its financing, reported xconomy.com on Sept. 1.

The plant, which will produce up to 40 million gallons a year of cellulosic ethanol, is expected to be fully operational by 2013, said Steve Hicks, CEO of the company, which is a joint venture of Mascoma Corp. and J.M. Longyear LLC.

Lebanon, New Hampshire-based biofuels company Mascoma drew $6.9 million from a new US$50 million convertible debt financing, documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 18 indicate, xconomy.com reported.

San Antonio, Texas-based Valero Energy Corp. signed a non-binding agreement in January to invest as much as $50 million in the biorefinery, which will be operated by Frontier Renewable Resources.

In July, Frontier Resources announced it had obtaining a state building permit for the plant.

The project includes a biomass boiler that will be fed with hardwood that is abundant in the region, according to a Jan. 13 press release from Mascoma that was carried on IndustryIntel.com the same day.

The $350 million cellulosic ethanol plant will be one the largest of its kind in the U.S., based on a May 3 report in the Detroit Free Press that was carried on IndustryIntel.com the same day.

J.M. Longyear is a Michigan-based natural resources management company, according to the Jan. 13 press release.

The primary source of this article is xconomy.com, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Sept. 1, 2011.

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