VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A partnership between two Canadian companies plans to build an $80 million cellulostic ethanol plant in Grand Junction, business and government leaders from metro Denver learned Friday.
The partnership between Lig nol Energy Corp. and Suncor Energy will produce 8,500 gallons of ethanol a day and employ between 30 and 45 permanent workers when opened in the next two or three years.
“We will take the ethanol and blend it into gasoline,” said Paul Ludwig, Suncor’s manager of government and stakeholder relations.
The companies said earlier this year they had planned to build in Commerce City, where Suncor has a refinery, but those plans changed in recent weeks.
Ross MacLachlan, Lignol’s president and chief executive, spoke to participants in the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation exchange trip, which each year visits different cities to learn about their approaches to public-policy issues.
Topics discussed besides alternative energy included health care, exports to Asia, immigration, and Vancouver’s plans to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“You have the audience here that can build the political will for a project,” Maureen McDonald, executive director of the foundation, said about Denver’s 160 delegates, including Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
The joint venture between Lignol and Suncor would use wood — possibly from trees damaged by pine beetles — and wood residue from two Western Slope lumber mills.
Companies such as Lignol are in a race to develop the first commercial-scale cellulostic ethanol plant, which wouldn’t require valuable food sources such as corn in their production.
“Many people are saying the time for cellulostic ethanol is here,” said MacLachlan.
Lignol plans to test its technology at a pilot plant near Vancouver scheduled to open next year. The Grand Junction plant, which would be one-tenth the size of a commercial facility, would test the companies’ ability to scale up to a full-blown factory.
MacLachlan said a $30 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will help pay for the plant.
“It’s very important we get the plants right, not just the technology, but the economics,” he said.
He said there are no commercial-level cellulostic ethanol plants operating today. The Lignol plants are designed to also produce several valuable industrial chemicals.
