11
Making Sugar from CO 2 Kef Kasdin, CEO April 22, 2014 ABLC Washington, DC

Making Sugar from CO 2 Kef Kasdin, CEO April 22, 2014 ABLC Washington, DC

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Making Sugar from CO2

Kef Kasdin, CEO

April 22, 2014

ABLC

Washington, DC

2

Not Crop-Based / Not Cellulosic Benefits to PartnersFermentation-Ready

Proterro makes low cost sucrose that unlocks

economical production of biofuels and chemicals

We Make Sugar…

Avoids pricing volatility Predictable, reliable

source of production Much less land vs crops 1/10 water of algae

systems

Drop-in sugar feedstock No further processing

required for fermentation to biofuels/biochemicals

Easily scalable

Complements 1st and 2nd generation ethanol

Clean sucrose (no other sugars or inhibitors for biochem)

Monetizes CO2

To supplement sugars extracted from crops or deconstructed from cellulosic materials

The Feedstock Challenge

3

Corn and Sugar

Access to a reliable, low-cost feedstock remains a critical barrier to scale

for the production of bio-based fuels and chemicals.

Feedstock Challenges

Price Volatility: Seasonally- and market-driven price

volatility

Food v. Fuel: Land competition

Biomass Availability: Access to amount of biomass

required to obtain economies of scale is limited

Biomass Recalcitrance and Non-Homogeneity:

Fractionation and deconstruction of biomass into usable

intermediates require complicated and expensive multi-

step processes

Cellulosics

Proterro addresses these challenges by making affordable, fermentation-ready sucrose

Converting Sunlight to Fuels & Chemicals

4

CO2 + H20

+ Nutrients

CO2 + H20 +

Nutrients

Hydrocarbons

Alcohols

Organic Acids

Oils

Refine Fuels & Chemicals

Growth$

Harvest$

Process$

Logistics$

Sugarcane, Corn, CelluloseCO2 + H20

+ Nutrients

• Complex; labor, capital & energy intensive

Air and CO2

H2O, Nutrients Air

Sucrose, Water

Photons

Photobioreactor

• Lower cost than sugarcane, corn, cellulose

Proterro Patented Process

Path to Commercialization

1. Lab scale development and proof of concept

2. Greenhouse Testing

– 1/3rd m2 photobioreactor; 3 months

3. Pilot Program – Orlando, Florida

– Outdoor testing in natural light; 50 m2 growth surface per bioreactor

– 4 months continuous operation

– Consistent and controllable sugar production

– No contamination effect on sucrose productivity

– Results verify process is scalable

4. Demonstration Program– Outdoor testing adjacent to mill or other CO2 source

– ~100 photobioreactors working as a system

5. First Commercial Plant

5

Commercial Scale Photobioreactor Developed with ILC Dover

6

ILC Dover

Engineered solutions employing high-performance flexible materials since 1947

Specializes in advanced fabrics and engineered inflatables

NASA spacesuits

Containment solutions for pharma

PBR is very robust: able to withstand Category 1 hurricane winds

Robust, Modular Photobioreactor Made from Off the Shelf Materials

7

Key Features

Collapsible low-cost polyethylene cylinder

Naturally sheds rain and snow

Favorable aerodynamic shape for wind loading

Patented cyanobacteria grow on vertical fabric panels

Water and nutrients drain by gravity on panels

CO2-augmented air, flue gas inflates cylinder

Natural low point for condensate drain

Can be UV stabilized Validated low fabrication

costs

S E

NW

Preliminary Demonstration Plant Design

8

9

Strong Value Proposition for Partners

Utilize excess production capacity

Gain access to low-cost sugar supply

Utilize emitted CO2 to produce more sucrose

Attractive return on investment

Stable, reliable low-cost source of sucrose-Commodity hedging

not core competency

High purity feedstock stream-Bioengineered

organisms highly susceptible to any byproduct inhibitors

-Attractive return on investment

Utilize and monetize CO2

Response to regulatory pressure to mitigate CO2 footprint

Attractive return on investment

First Generation EthanolRenewable Fuels &

ChemicalsCO2 Emitters

Proterro provides a compelling partner opportunity across markets

10

Bioreactor

Engineered Organism

Process

Aggressive Patent Filings

Notice of allowance on photobioreactor claims

US Patent 8,367,379 issued Feb 2013

US Patent 8,597,914 issued Dec 2013

Developing comprehensive patent estate with 70+ global applications pending or planned to file

Robust Intellectual Property Position

Proterro, Inc.100 Princeton South Corporate CenterSuite 150Ewing, NJ 08628

www.proterro.com

Kef Kasdin, [email protected]